Facing Grave Danger
by Alexandra Khayman
Summary: Morgan Lynn Rodriguez came to work on the Las Vegas Crime Lab and, all of a sudden, she founds herself living with Nick. How do you think that Grave Danger would have happened if she were there too? Caracther's addition to the original team. NickOC
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

**A/N:** YAY! I'm finally posting this! I know that fanfiction's emailhas been down but I had promised I would post this story today. I don't know if the updates will be frequent, but I'll do my best. Some notes about this story: 

1) There's a character's addiction to the original team of CSI: LV. I own her and I'm the one who decides what she does and why she does it. If you don't like it, too bad!

2) This story takes place around the fourth and fifth season of CSI. Maybe there's some timing that will be wrong, but honestly, I don't care much about that.

3) This story is M-Rated due to language (much cursing), some violence and explicit content in later chapters. If you don't like to read it, just press the 'back' button. Anyways, I'll warn you when the time comes.

**Facing Grave Danger**

**By**

**AlexandraKhayman**

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episode 'Grave Danger' isn't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine)._

**Summary:** _The episode 'Grave Danger' takes a different view when Nick's housemate is also in the team. Character's addition to the original team. NickxOC._

**Chapter 1**

She got out of the bus and looked around _"So, this is Vegas, uh?"_ – She questioned herself.

Morgan Lynn Rodriguez, a twenty-two year old girl, tall and with long black hair that fell on her back with some red tips had finally arrived Las Vegas. She had just finished college and was about to start her probation. _"And what a better place then Vegas to do it?"_ – She thought, dropping her bag on the floor along with her backpack.

The brilliant city known worldwide by its casinos and lights was shinning around her. She searched for the paper where the address of her new job was written on her pocket and read it _"Crime Lab. 3057 Westfall Avenue, Las Vegas, Nevada."_

She smiled; her dream was about to come true… She picked her stuff up and walked to the cabs that were near by the station. _"Let's get to work!"_ – She said to herself.

When she arrived the Lab, about twenty minutes later, she felt her nerves attacking her stomach. "Take it easy Lynn… they're not going to eat you." – She murmured.

She took a deep breathe and push the door. She walked to the receptionist and made a nice look.

"Good Night. How can I help you?" – The woman asked.

"Good Night. I have a meeting with Capt. Jim Brass." – She informed.

"Sure. Wait just a minute please." – The receptionist pointed the waiting room in front of them – "I'll tell Capt. Brass that you're here Miss…."

"Rodriguez. Morgan Rodriguez."

The receptionist smiled and reached the phone. Morgan caught the way that the receptionist had stared at her while she was waiting for Capt. Brass to answer the phone. She couldn't help but smile: it had been like this since she was sixteen. Her studded leather bracelet, her black belt with little pentagrams printed, her notorious passion for tattoos and the often-called 'weird' way she dressed had always made people stare at her with some kind of surprise and sometimes even disgust.

"_Well, I can see that she do__esn't like rock people… too bad."_ - Morgan thought with a smile. She had once cared more about that than she cared now. She looked at her 'soon to be' workplace… at least, she hoped so. It seemed to be nice and a perfect place to start her probation. This Lab was one of the bests on the United States and the leader of the night shift, Gil Grissom, had a huge reputation.

"_It would be awesome to learn from him…"_ – She thought. The excitement and, at the same time, the fear of working for such a respectable person were taking over her when the receptionist called her.

"Miss Rodriguez?"

"Yes?"

"Capt. Brass is going to receive you now. This way please…"

She followed the woman to an office. On the way, she had the chance to take a quick look at the Lab.

"Here it is." – The woman told her, pointing to the nearest office.

"Thank you." – She smiled. She knocked on the door and waited for an answer from the inside.

"Come in."

She passed her hand through her hair and opened the door. The man stood up from his desk – "Good evening, Miss Rodriguez. I was just taking a look at your résumé."

Morgan smiled and they greeted, shaking each other's hand.

"Please, take a seat."

"Thank you." – She sat down on the chair, her hands resting on her lap.

"I've seen that you graduated with some medium grades, but you had an excellent final exam. What makes you want to have your probation and eventually work, after it, on this CSI lab?"

"I've heard a lot of good things about this one. Being a CSI has been my dream since I was a little girl and I thought that I could learn a lot here. I know that my grades aren't exactly the ones that are requested…"

"You know, despite being the second most important lab in the country, we think that are other things that are more important than just grades."

Morgan couldn't avoid a little smile – "Well, I will work a lot, I can assure you that. I'm very dedicated to all that I do and, I don't know if it's a good thing, but I'm a perfectionist."

"Well, Miss Rodriguez, we'll do the following: I give you a month to prove your value. Four weeks to show me that the feeling I had when you walked through that door was right. Then, if you convince me, I can assure you that, after you finished your probation, you'll be staying here." – Jim Brass stood up.

"Thank you Sir!" – Morgan stood up too – "I'll do my best."

"You'll be starting tomorrow. I'll introduce to the rest of the team; I guess they're all here now…"

Capt. Brass walked to the door and opened it. He let Morgan leave the office first and then directed her to the meeting room, where Gil Grissom was briefing that night's cases.

"Hey, sorry for interrupting you Grissom, but I have someone here that I want you to meet guys…"

Grissom looked at her with a nice smile and nodded. They got in the room and she saw two women and two men sitting at the table.

"Guys, this young girl right here is Miss Rodriguez. She will start working here tomorrow." – Capt. Brass introduced – "Morgan, these are your teammates: Sara Sidle, Catherine Willows, Nick Stokes and Warrick Brown. This man right here is Gil Grissom, your superior."

Morgan reached for his hand – "It's an honour to meet you Sir. I hope to fill your expectations."

"I'm sure you will." – Grissom answered, smiling to her.

**(A month later)**

Morgan paid the taxi driver and shouted, "Keep the change", running to the lab. Today she was finally going to know if they had liked her work and if she was going to stay in Las Vegas and, dammit, she was late!

She passed the reception - "The Captain is waiting for you, rookie. You're late." – The receptionist, Alyssa, warned her.

"Thanks Alyssa." – She said and kept running.

When she was turning to her right to Capt. Brass' office, she ran into someone. She fell to the floor along with the folders that the other person was carrying.

"Dammit!" – She hissed.

"Morgan, are you okay?" – Nick asked.

"Nick…" – She blushed and helped him getting the files all together again – "I'm so sorry. I should be more careful but I'm late."

"Late for what?"

"I'm going to find out now if they liked my work during this month. If they did, I'm staying here. If they didn't…"

"Hey…" – Nick helped her stand up – "I'm sure you're going to stay. You did an awesome job."

"Thanks. Well, I have to go. See you later."

"See you. Good luck!" – Nick waved to her as she knocked on the door.

"Come in."

She opened the door – "Oh, I'm so sorry for being late Captain."

"It's okay. It was the first time. Well, I must say you chose a bad day to arrive late but relax… there's no problem with it."

He stood up and pointed the door – "But we'll talk in the meeting room. Follow me."

"_This can't be a good sign…"_ – She sighed. For the first time in her life, Morgan felt that she was going to faint if this did not end quickly.

They had arrived at the meeting room and the whole team was there. She put down her stuff and stood in front of all of them, waiting for her evaluation.

"Don't you want to sit down?"

"No, thanks, but I'd rather stay like this."

"Okay, then. Let's see…" – He looked at some papers and started talking – "During this month you helped this team in 18 different cases, all successfully solved. Your skills and your team spirit were much appreciated by Mr. Grissom. So, I guess I may say that, despite all we talked in our first meeting about your grades, you did a pretty good job and you deserve to be here. Welcome to the team, Miss Rodriguez."

"_Yes!" _– She thought. She smiled and walked to her leader – "Thank you so much for supporting my work, Mr. Grissom. I swear I won't disappoint you."

"You're welcome Morgan. And please, for now on, call me Grissom."

She smiled and let out a sigh of relief. Catherine Willows came to congratulate her – "I'm really happy that you're staying and I hope you can learn a lot from us."

"I will. Thank you."

A few minutes later, in the locker room, Morgan was putting her things on her locker when Nick approached her.

"Hey. I told you you'd be staying." – She turned to him and Nick smiled – "Welcome to the team, Morgan."

She smiled to him and their eyes met for some seconds – "Thanks Nick."

_A/N: This chapter is dedicated to _**Arwennicole**_, not just because today it's her 18__th__ birthday (everybody, wish her Happy Birthday!) but also because she helped me a lot with this, even when I wanted to give up. Thanks a lot, my dear friend._


	2. Chapter 2: Almost Easy

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episode 'Grave Danger' isn't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

_**Arwennicole - **You're welcome. LY too. Glad you liked your birthday present._

_**PR.Etincelle - **T.H.A.N.K. Y.O.U._

_**PhantomRogue - **I love him too. Hehe. Here's more. Hope you like this too._

_**SuperManFlashFan - **Thank you!_

_**elin2002 - **Thanks._

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter 2**

Warrick knocked on the locker's room door – "Come on Morgan, we got to go. We have a DB in Henderson."

"Oh, okay. I'm coming." – She said, closing the door of her locker. She reached for her stuff and left the room.

"_What the hell just happened here?"_ – Nick thought. Their eyes had met for a few brief seconds but it had seemed like the whole world had stopped. _"Okay, it must have been nothing… Forget it and get to work, Nick!"_ – He left the locker room and got back to the Lab.

"May I ask why there was that worried look on your face when you just got the news that you're going to stay with us?" – Warrick questioned her, on their way to his car.

She didn't even listen to him, lost on her thoughts about that moment.

"Earth calls Morgan?" – Warrick waved his hand in front of her eyes – "You there?"

"Uh?" – She came out of her haze – "Yes. You were saying?"

Warrick laughed – "I was asking you why you had that worried look on your face when you just got the news that you're going to stay.. But you weren't here with me…Never mind."

"Sorry, I was somewhere else."

"Yeah, I got that." – Warrick said as he opened the door of his car – "That's why I am the one driving now…"

"You're always the one driving!" – She complained.

"I'm older kiddo… More responsible and all."

Morgan laughed – "You? More responsible?"

"Yes, of course. Why are you laughing?"

"Well, I've heard some stuff here and there."

Warrick turned on the ignition and muttered – "You're a dead man, Nick Stokes."

Morgan laughed and put on her seat belt – "So, where are we going?"

"Did you even listen to anything I said to you when I called you at the locker room?"

She blushed – "A… Yes, of course." – She thought for a while – "We have a DB in Henderson. What I was asking was if you know anything else, other than that."

"No. Catherine was busy so she sent me there and told me to take you with me."

Morgan nodded and turned on the radio. After a few minutes, Warrick couldn't control his curiosity – "So, are you going to tell me why you and Nick got so embarrassed when I called you?"

Morgan blushed – "Embarrassed?"

"Yeah. You seemed like…" – Warrick suddenly understood – "Oh! Did I interrupt something?"

"No. He was just congratulating me for being accepted." – She said in a casual tone.

"Yeah, right" – Warrick teased.

"Oh, shut up!" – She said.

He laughed and didn't say anything more until they arrived at the crime scene. When Morgan was taking her bag out of the car, he went behind her and whispered – "Don't worry. I'll ask Nick."

She looked at him and shook her head – "Come on, Brown, we have work to do!"

Warrick laughed and followed her to the place where O'Riley was waiting for them. Behind him, the corpse of a man, caucasian, was lying on the floor. Standing next to him, was an officer.

"Goodnight Detective." – They greeted. "What do we have here?" – Warrick asked.

"Goodnight. Dead male, caucasian, around thirty. ID was on his pocket. His name is Randy Newton. This officer found him around midnight. David arrived a while ago."

"Thanks." – Warrick turned back to her – "Where do you want to start?"

"Maybe I'll stay with the body; you mark the perimeter and search for evidences?"

"Yeah. I always get the boring part of it… sure!" – He complained. – "Next time, I'll bring Greg."

"Be my guest." – She blinked to him – "Next time, let me drive and I'll do the perimeter."

"I'd rather drive my car into a wall than give it to you…" – He turned his back to her and started working.

She laughed and went to meet David – "Hey Dave… so, what can you tell me?"

"Hey Morgan. Well, time of death was around 11pm. Cause of death is most likely this wound right here, on his chest. Probably from a bullet."

"So, he was dead not long before the officer found him… However, the sound of a gunshot here would have attracted the neighbours. Can you tell me where he was killed?"

"I guess that he was killed somewhere else and then dumped here. But I'll be able to tell you more details after the autopsy."

"Thank you David. I'll meet you in the Lab." – She got up and went to search for the officer who had found the body.

"CSI Rodriguez." – She introduced – _"Feels good to introduce myself as a CSI…"_ – She thought to herself, smiling – _"Okay, focus Lynn…"_ – "Sir, how did you find the body?"

"I was walking here, it's my duty to watch this neighbourhood during the week and I saw him lying here. When I approached and I realized he was dead, I called the cops."

"Did you touch or move the body?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Thank you Sir. Leave a number with Detective O'Riley, just in case we need to speak with you again."

"Sure. Can I go now?"

"Yes. Goodnight."

She turned back to the place where the body had been. David had already taken it with him and she could now analyse that spot.

**(About an hour later, back on the Lab)**

"Guess what?" – Warrick asked, entering the room where she was analysing some hairs she had gotten out of the victim's clothes.

"What?" – She said, not taking her eyes off the microscope.

"Our victim, Randy Newton had been involved in a fight in a club, near the place where we found him, with some guy called Tim 'The Wolf'"

"That nickname…let me guess: drug dealer?"

"Yeah. O'Riley is bringing him in."

"Now, you guess what!" – She got up and pointed the microscope to him – "The hairs I found on the victim…"

Warrick looked through the microscope – "Yeah, I don't see anything. They're totally normal."

"Men!" – She shrugged – "You, guys, are always the same. Never pay attention to the little details! Those hairs have DNA. You can extract it and find a match…"

Warrick looked at her – "Good call. I'll interview that Tim and try to get something from him… maybe his DNA."

"Good. I'll ask Greg to extract and analyse the DNA. I'll warn you when I have something." - She grabbed the sample and left the room.

"Oh, and on my way to Greg, I'll pass on the Ballistics, to see if they identified the bullet. Try to find if the guy has a weapon." – She said, from the doorway – "Drug dealer, I'm sure he has loads of them."

Warrick laughed – "This seems simple and easy. We will have him locked up before the end of the shift."

"I hope so." – She shouted from the hall. She walked to the Ballistics – "Hey Bob!"

"Hey. I just found your weapon. It's a 9mm." – He told her – "Oh, and congratulations! I heard you're staying"

"Yeah, thanks man." – She picked the report and walked back to the door – "I have to go meet Greg. There's DNA in here." – She said smiling to him – "Thank you for the weapon. See you!"

She reached for her cell and dialled a familiar number. "Brown." – The voice on the other side said.

"Hey, search for a 9mm."

"Okay. Page me when you found something with Greg."

"Sure." – She said and hung up. – "Hey Greg!"

"Oh, my favourite rookie. How are you?"

"I'm great. And I'll be even better if you give me something here…" – She told him, showing him the sample.

"What do you want?"

"DNA, and as fast as you can."

**(Interrogation**** Room)**

"I didn't do anything." – Tim said. – "We fought, that's true but I walked away and went home."

"So, you didn't follow Mr. Newton?"

"No. I've said this a thousands times. Can I go now?"

"No. We need your DNA first." – Warrick said, showing him the warn that they had.

"What if I don't give you?"

"You want to go to jail?" – Warrick challenged. The guy was silent – "I thought so. Open you mouth!"

After collecting the sample, Warrick turned to O'Riley – "I'll be right back."

"You can't keep me here and leave." – Tim protested

"Can't I?" – Warrick teased – "Watch me!" – He turned around and left the room.

**(A little later)**

"So?" – Morgan asked, anxious.

"It seems to me that Mr. 'Wolf' is going to spend his vacations on jail." – Greg said – "The DNA matches."

"Yes!" – She celebrated – "I'm going to tell Warrick. Thanks a lot, Gregy."

She knocked on the door and got inside the Interrogation Room – "Goodnight Mr. 'Wolf'"

"What do you want?"

"Hey, don't need to be rude." – She said, smiling ironically to him – "In fact, you're going to have many time to work on your manners… in prison." – She showed him the papers – "This is the DNA we got from the hairs that were on the victim. And this…" – She revealed another paper – "This is your DNA. As you can read there… well, I don't know if you can read, so I'll read it for you: it says that it's the same DNA which means that those are your hairs."

Just then, Warrick got in the room – "And the murder weapon is this one, that I just found in your apartment."

"As you can see, 'Wolf'… if you want to kill someone, you gotta do it properly. This means, leaving no clue... Or the wolf is caught." – She turned around and left the room as Warrick followed her, instructing the Detective to arrest that man.

"Good job with the hairs." – He said – "And I loved the way you talked to the guy, but it was a little too much. Try to control yourself next time okay?"

"Sure." – She said smiling.

"Oh, have I told you that we're going out celebrating after the end of the shift?"

"No." – She stopped – "Where are we going?"

"I don't know yet. We'll decide later, when everybody is free."

"Okay. Do you have anything more for me to do?"

"Nope. We're done for today rookie." – Warrick informed – "But that doesn't mean that it's always going to be like this."


	3. Chapter 3: Down

**A/N:** Oops, I forgot to say something in the first chapter. The caracther of Sofia Curtis will only appear in this story after 'Grave Danger'. Her function as a Crime Scene Investigator is some sort of replaced by Morgan. My rookie took Sofia's place. I apologize to all Sofia fans for that.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episode 'Grave Danger' isn't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

_**PR.Etincelle - **Hehe. Maybe you can say that... we'll see that later on. Hehe This soon enough?_

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter 3**

Another month went by and everything seemed perfect in Morgan's life. She couldn't ask for anything more: her job was going fine and everyone seemed to like her… except one of her teammates.

Sara Sidle, the former-only-girl of the team (except Catherine who was older and much more respected), didn't seem to be very happy to be replaced. Before Morgan's arrival, she was kind of the centre of the attention of everyone in that Lab. Even Greg, the one that was always trying to get a date with her, was acting as if he didn't want to flirt with her anymore.

"What the hell is happening with everybody?" – Sara kept asking herself – "It seems like she is the only person here that does her job right."

However, until that day, nothing really serious had happened between those two. Nothing more serious than some irony and one casual fight here and there.

That evening, Morgan had just arrived the Lab and was really pissed off. She was about to start her shift and she headed to the break room, to have a coffee before work.

She sat on the couch and lighted a cigarette – "What a day!" – She sighed. She put on her headphones and blew out the smoke, focusing her attention on the little smoke clouds, as they lifted up and gradually dissipated in the air. She closed her eyes slowly and fell into a more relaxed state of mind.

She only noticed another presence in the room when she felt someone taking the cigarette out of her hand. She opened her eyes and saw Nick smashing the cigarette in the ashtray.

Morgan took off the headphones – "I had just lighted that one, you know?"

"You're going to get yourself killed one of these days, smoking like that…"

"As if anyone cared…" – She muttered.

"What is that supposed to mean?" – Nick asked, sitting on the couch, beside her.

"Exactly what it means." – She said, getting up.

"Hold on a minute... we're talking here." – He got up and followed her.

"We were talking and just due to you smashing my cigarette. And that conversation it's finished." – She went to open the door and leave the room when Nick blocked it.

"What the hell is your problem?" – She asked.

"Well, you're not the right person to ask that, are you?" – He questioned her, as she started pacing back and forward in the room – "What happened?"

"Nothing!" – She answered – "Would you please be so kind and let me leave this room? I have to work."

As he didn't seem to have any intention to allow her to do that, she threatened – "Or you let me walk out that door or…"

Nick shrugged his shoulders – "Fine." – He stepped out of the way and she left the room. When she was walking down the hall, he asked – "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to smoke outside. At least, there are no ashtrays there…" – She said.

Nick smiled briefly before following her to the outside. He stopped by the reception – "Alyssa, if anyone needs me, I'm right at the entrance okay? Oh, and Morgan's with me."

"Sure, Nick."

He opened the door of the Lab and saw her sitting in one of the first steps – "Isn't cold in here?" – He said, sitting next to her.

"Are you following me now?"

"No, of course not. I was just wondering, since there are 12 degrees Celsius outside and you're just with that small t-shirt."

"You really are into bother me tonight, uh?" – She said.

"I'm just trying to figure out what happened that makes you be like this…"

"Nothing happened, I've told you."

"Okay, one thing is that you don't want to tell. Another is that you're lying." – He looked at her – "You never acted like this before, and I think I already know you well enough to know that something happened and that is why you're so pissed off."

"Or maybe you don't know me that well…" – She shot back, staring at the street.

"True…" – Nick said, nodding in agreement – "I still think it worth's the shot."

She smiled a little, for the first time that day – "You never give up, do you, Stokes?"

"Not really." – He answered – "At least, you smiled."

Morgan focused her attention once again on the smoke that was dissipating in the air with each breath she took.

"What makes you think that?" – She asked, after a few minutes of silence.

"Honestly?"

"Yeah."

"I don't know. I only know that when you walked through that door, I felt that I had to follow you, to find out what's going on."

She shook her head – "You're wasting your time."

"I don't think so."

She finished her cigarette and silence dominated once again. As he didn't seem to move from that spot, on the steps, at the entrance of the Lab, she turned to him – "You're really not going to leave me alone until I start speaking, are you?"

He shook his head – "No."

Just when she was about to start, Catherine appeared in the door – "Nick, I'm sorry to interrupt you. Alyssa told me you two were outside… Morgan, come on, we have a case."

She was about to get up when Nick pulled her arm – "Stay here." – He whispered. He turned to Catherine – "Sorry Cath, but you'll have to take Greg with you. Morgan's working with me tonight.

"Oh, sorry…" – Catherine apologized – "Grissom must have forgotten to warn me about that."

"Well, you see…" – Nick stood up and approached her, speaking in a low tone – "Grissom doesn't quite know it yet."

"Oh okay…" – Catherine realized something was up. She had known Nick for quite a while now and she knew that he wasn't the type of person go break the rules, just when he really needed to – "I'll take Greg."

"Thanks."

She went back inside and Nick sat back at Morgan's side. "I don't want you to get into any troubles with Grissom or Brass or so because of me, Nick."

"Don't worry about that. I trust Cath. And you?"

"Me?"

"Do you trust me?"

"I'm not a person that trusts the others easily." – She confessed.

Nick leaned his face down and thought about what he should do next. It was killing him that this girl could be with some kind of serious problem and that he couldn't do anything to help her. He had been like this his whole life; he had a need to help the others that had many times interfered with his job.

"I'm sorry." – She whispered after a while.

Nick looked up to her and saw that her expression had changed. "It's just that I'm really screwed."

"I think I'm repeating myself too much but… what happened?"

"I got kicked out." – She finally said.

"Kicked out?"

"Yeah. I rented an apartment not too far from here and now the owner kicked me out. He had a better offer. I can't pay what the other person is willing to pay, I can't afford that. So, from now on, I'm sleeping on the street. Yeah, basically, that's it."

"On the street?" – Nick was shocked. "You know he can't do that. It's against the law. You should sue him."

"Do you think that I'm some sort of rich person? My salary is not the same as yours; I could barely pay that house."

"When did that happen?" – He asked.

"Yesterday."

"Yesterday? Where did you sleep last night?"

She turned her face to him – "In the locker room. And I didn't sleep."

"Why didn't you call me or Warrick or so?"

"I didn't want to bother you after work. You deserve to rest and I don't have the right to piss you with my problems."

Nick couldn't understand why she was so reluctant in getting help from the outside - "So now what? You're not going to live on the street!"

"I think I still have enough money to pay a room in the cheapest motel."

"No, you're not going to sleep in a motel, that's ridiculous. We have to find a solution." – Nick said.

"We?"

"Yeah. I didn't wait almost forty-five minutes to hear your problem and then do nothing. I'm going to help you."

Morgan smiled briefly but then preoccupation took over her face again, as she bit her lip.

"Hey…" – Nick reached for her hand – "I have an empty room at my house. You can stay there until you find a place of your own, if you want."

"I don't know Nick…"

"You're not staying in a crappy motel, that's the bottom line."

"I'll pay you some sort of rent." – She said.

"No way!"

"Or this or nothing." – She said – "I'm not going to stay there, not paying anything."

"Okay. But we'll discuss that later okay?"

"Fine." – Morgan turned to him – "Thank you, Nick. And I'm sorry for my attitude earlier."

"No problem. I understand. I just hope that after this, you take something good out of me. Because you better have realized already that I never give up. At least, not that easily."

She approached him and kissed his cheek for a moment. Then she pulled back – "Thanks."

"You're welcome. Come on, let's get to work." – He stood up and helped her standing up - "Or they will start thinking that we're on a strike today."

She laughed and they got back inside – "Damn, I was freezing out there." – He complained – "You can be really stubborn when you want, did you know it?"

"Yeah." – Morgan answered, passing her hand through her hair, caressing the red tips – "So I've been told."


	4. Chapter 4: Under Pressure

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episode 'Grave Danger' isn't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

_**Arwennicole - **Thanks. There you go. I love this chapter. Mainly the ending. I hope you like it too._

_**Phantom Rogue - **He's perfect -sighs-. Hope you like this one too. As I said to Nicole, the ending is the best part. -grins evilly-._

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter 4**

"Okay, so here we are." – Nick said, opening the door. He pointed for her to enter first and she passed by him, getting into a hallway.

Nick got inside too and put one of her bags down – "Here, let me…" – He took the ones that she was carrying and dropped them near the other one.

"Morgan, are you okay?" – He said, worried about her look.

"I'm not sure about this. I feel like I'm invading your property… your privacy."

Nick ignored her and headed to the living room – "I'll show you the house and your room and all. I guess I have an extra key somewhere, I'll give it to you as soon as I find it."

Morgan shrugged her shoulders and followed him. "Okay so here's the living room. Over there is the kitchen and bathroom. My room is right there too. Yours is here." – He opened the door on his right – "I hope you like it."

"Its fine, thanks." – She said.

"If you need anything, and I mean anything, you don't need to ask. Just take it. This is your house too, from now on."

Morgan nodded and dropped her purse and jacket on the bed. She looked around and walked to the window, checking the view.

Nick had brought her bags to the room – "I'll leave you now, you should rest. I bet you didn't sleep last night."

"You're right." – She turned to him – "I think I'm going to sleep now, if you don't mind."

"Of course not, why would I?" – He approached her – "I've said this not five minutes ago… this is your house too, you don't need to ask for permission for nothing."

She nodded and bit her lip. Nick walked to the door – "Goodnight." – He said.

"Goodnight." – She whispered and he closed the door.

She took off her green Converse All Star snickers, her black jacket and her studded bracelet and watch. She let herself fall onto the bed thinking that she would unpack her stuff the day after. She curled up, realizing how good it felt to lie on a bed after sitting the whole night on the locker room of the Lab. She closed her eyes and slowly fell asleep, forgetting all her worries for a couple of hours.

On the room next door, Nick was looking through the window, feeling tired but not being able to sleep. Something inside him was so happy and thrilled. He didn't know why but it was almost like he was glad for having Morgan moving in.

"Drop it... you're just happy because you helped a friend. That's it!" – Nick said to himself – "Now, go get some sleep!"

----

When Nick woke up the next morning, he heard a little noise on the kitchen and went check it out. He found Morgan on the kitchen, preparing breakfast.

"Good Morning!" – He greeted, rubbing his eyes.

She turned around – "Oh hey Nick…" – Then, she realized – "Oops, I woke you up, didn't I? Sorry Nick, I was preparing something for us to eat, I tried to…"

He cut her off, with a smile – "No, you didn't. And I've told you…"

"Right. Not ask for permission, not apologize." – She said – "I'll try to get used to it."

Nick grinned – "What are you preparing?"

"Some eggs, toasts and orange juice." – She smiled – "It's going to be ready in a couple of minutes. Want some?"

"Hmm… yeah. I'm just going to take a shower first. Give me five minutes."

"Sure. I'll finish this and set the table while you get dressed."

Nick nodded and went to the bathroom. Ten minutes later, he showed up in the kitchen, all dressed – "Well, this must be the best breakfast I've had in months. Except for one or another time, when we go eat something after work."

She laughed – "I'm not that good in kitchen you know… I just couldn't sleep. Come on; eat while it's still warm." – She sat down and Nick did the same.

"So… what did you think of the first night? Is the bed comfortable?" – Nick asked, after a few minutes of silence.

"It's perfect, thanks. Much better then the one where I slept and definitely much better than the seats of the locker room…" – She answered.

"I still can't believe you weren't going to say anything…" – Nick criticized – "And don't say that you didn't want to bother us, because it's BS. You'll excuse me, but it's your life we're talking about here… and believe it or not, but we're your friends!"

"I've known you for what? Two months? I wasn't going to arrive the Lab and say 'Hey guys, I was kicked out! Can you help me?'… I'm not that type of person!" – She snapped, getting up.

"Hey, hold on, I didn't mean to… Morgan!" – He called.

"What?"

"Where are you going?"

"I need to catch some fresh air. I'm sorry Nick. I'll see you at work."

She went to her room, grabbed her jacket and bag and left.

"Dammit!" – He hissed, when he heard the door close.

Morgan didn't even wait for the elevator. She ran down the stairs until the street and walked out the building. Outside, she felt cold and dressed her jacket. She walked with no destination defined. She didn't even know why she had left. She walked hours and hours with no direction. She turned to streets where she had never been before; she saw almost the whole Vegas.

She reached the bridge a couple of hours later. She checked her cell: both Nick and Warrick had tried to call her several times. She dialled Warrick's number.

"Hey. It's me. Look, I'll see you guys later, at work, okay? I'm just taking a walk through the city. Getting to know places I've never been."

"We were worried. Nick called me, told me that you stormed out of the house. Everything's okay?"

"Yeah, Warrick, I'm great. Really. I just needed to catch some air and so. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Okay."

"Bye." - She said, and hung up.

She stared at the view from the highest place of that bridge. It was one of the most beautiful places she had ever been. She thought about her actions – _"Why did you left that way? There is definitely something wrong with you."_

She shook her head. All she knew was that in that moment she had felt such a pressure that she had freaked out. _"But why? Why such pressure? It was Nick we're talking about here…"_ – She said to herself – _"You're going to apologize to him… it was a stupid attitude."_

She stood there thinking about her life, all turned upside down, for a while. When she looked at her watch, she realized it was time to starting thinking about going to work, despite not wanting to.

**(At the Crime Lab)**

"You have to give her some space man… She's still getting used to this. She's really young and moved here to a place where she didn't know anybody, got kicked out not much later, and all of a sudden she's living in your house…. It's rough, Nick."

"Yeah, I know." – Nick said. He and Warrick were talking in the locker room, before meeting Grissom on the meeting room, where he was going to brief the cases, as usual.

"And you said she told you she didn't trust the others easily… She seems to have a really special personality, we need to let her get used to all this. I like her a lot, she's a really great person and very interesting, but I try not to force anything man… Let her say the rules!"

"Maybe you're right… but the way she was yesterday, Warrick… she sounded so depressed. You should have seen it…"

"I know. The fights she has been having with Sara these last days haven't been helping either. I bet to you that she always felt left aside when she was younger, because of that entire black, punk attitude… People are discriminatory on that stuff. They see someone that is a bit different, has different hobbies; different tastes and they isolate that person. It's ridiculous, I know, but it's the true. I bet she was like that too… have you seen the looks that Alyssa gave her the first week? Jeez… it scared ME out!"

"But, I mean… I don't care about whatever she likes. If she's a rocker or not, she likes tattoos and black and all that punk stuff… I don't care; same way as you don't care or Catherine, Grissom and Brass don't care."

"I know Nick. As I said, give her some time and I'm sure she'll starting trusting us. In a few months, she will be almost as us and Catherine, I'm pretty sure of that."

Nick got up and nodded - "You're right."

----

Morgan had just arrived the Lab and was walking to the meeting room when Sara came to her.

"Hi Sara." – She greeted.

"What do you think you're doing?" – Sara asked, furious.

"Excuse-me?"

"You heard me. What do you think you're doing?"

"I actually think I work here, on the night shift, so I was going to the meeting room, to meet with Grissom and the rest of the team." – She said.

"You know what I mean!" – Sara snapped.

"No, I really don't. What the hell are you talking about?" – She questioned.

"You know exactly what I mean! You and Nick… do you think I didn't figure out what you're trying to do here?"

"Let me tell you that you picked a terrible day to mess with me, Sidle…" – Morgan warned and crossed her arms over her chest – "What am I trying to do?"

"I got your plan! You came here and started checking him out… yesterday, you played the role of the poor victim, the foreign girl who was kicked out for not having money and you got your ticket into his house… What are you thinking about doing next? Get him into your bed?"

Morgan laughed, dropped her bag to the floor and looked at her – "Too bad you crossed the line, Sidle…" – She said. Then, her right fist went right into Sara's face.


	5. Chapter 5: Hysteria

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episode 'Grave Danger' isn't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow - **Thanks for your review(s). You can't imagine how happy I am that this story is the first non PR you review under that penname. It makes me really happy. And I'm glad that you like Morgan too. She's really, really that type of person that won't let herlsef go that easily. The same happens with 'my' Nicky (which is just an idiot in an Andros kind of way). About that bed thing... you'll have to wait to see. blinks at the same time that eats cookie_

_**Arwennicole - **Thanks. Here's some more. Hope you like it too. I specially like the ending (again!)._

_**Phantom Rogue - **Oops. Sorry. I honestly don't like Sara and Morgan's action was really needed. I had to clarify a point this chapter and the fight was the only way I figured out to do it. Once again, my dearest apologies. And 'my' Nicky is always cute... and yeah, it will take them both a while! Here's some more._

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter 5**

Nick and Warrick were coming out of the locker room when they heard some screams and Greg came to them, running.

"Hey guys…" – He called out.

"Hold on, where is the fire, Greg?" – Warrick joked.

"In the hall, near the meeting room. Morgan and Sara are fighting."

Nick shrugged – "What else is new?"

"No, I mean, they are REALLY fighting. Physically speaking."

"You got to be kidding me!" – Warrick said, as they ran there.

When they arrived there, Sara had just shoved Morgan to the wall, with a hard punch. She had a huge cut on her cheek, while Morgan's bottom lip has been busted open and was now bleeding along with her nose.

They were able to break them apart – "If you touch me again, Rodriguez…." – Sara threatened, trying to break free of Greg's grasp, since he was holding her, trying to drag her away from there.

"It's enough Sara… leave her be." – Warrick said.

Morgan got Warrick's hand off her shoulder – "Let go! I don't need you to defend me!" – She turned to Sara – "Do you think that I'm scared of you? I eat skinnies like you at breakfast, Sidle. You don't know with who you messed!"

Sara was about to turn back and hit her once again, but Nick grabbed her arm before she could. "STOP IT!" – Catherine shouted, appearing in the hall – "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Morgan passed her fingers through her nose – "Nothing, Catherine, don't worry. This is over, anyways." – Warrick answered and turned to Morgan – "Come on, let's take care of that."

"It's nothing."

"I said 'come on'." – He insisted.

She followed him, and Greg took Sara to the meeting room, to take care of her cut too. Nick stood outside, talking with a shocked Catherine.

"What happened here?" – She asked.

"I don't know. Greg called us, said that they were fighting… I practically only saw what you saw." – He told her.

"You know that I'll have to inform Grissom about this, don't you?"

"Yeah. It's better. Maybe Grissom can find out what happened and knock some sense to them."

"They'll probably be suspended." – Catherine informed him.

"That means…"

"Yeah. It means that Morgan will be sent to restart her probation somewhere else. If her University decide to give her another shot."

"Dammit!" – He hissed.

"They had a fight in their workplace… it's unacceptable."

"Oh, come on…"

"Nick, rules are rules." – She explained – "You may not agree with them, but you'll have to follow them if you want to keep working here." – She saw his concerned face – "Think with me… what would happen if they had started fighting on a crime scene?"

"Can't you just close your eyes for this time?"

She looked at him – "You know I can't."

Nick sighed – "Yeah, I know."

"But, I'll try to persuade Grissom not to suspend them… after I found out what caused all this, of course."

"Thanks, Cath." – He said, while she was going to meet the supervisor of their shift.

She found him in his office, looking at some book about entomology. She took a breath before entering – "Hey, Gil… you have a minute?"

"Sure." – He said, putting the book aside – "What's up?"

"We have a problem. Well, you have a huge problem." – She informed him, sitting in the chair in front of his desk. Grissom gave her a quizzical look.

"Morgan and Sara… the hall near the meeting room seemed a boxing ring, a little while ago. Warrick and Greg broke them apart and they're taking care of their wounds now. I had to inform you, you have to make a stand. Imagine this happened in a crime scene?"

Grissom stood there for a minute, thinking. "Why did that happen? Do you know why?"

"No. Nick didn't know either. I guess Warrick and Greg are trying to find out. What are you doing to do?"

"The rules say that I have to suspend both of them." – He said calmly, taking off his glasses. Catherine sighed. "I know that she will lose her opportunity."

"Can't you suspend them without filling a report?"

"No."

"But she's a really good professional. I've been here for a while now and I can recognize… she has a great potential."

"I know Catherine. I need to think in a way to punish them. I'll try not to suspend them, but you know that I'm forced to apply a suspension in these cases."

"I know. Do you have any alternate idea?" – She asked.

"I think I do. Can you tell them to come to my office?"

"Sure. They'll be here in a minute." – She got up and went to search for them.

"Hey Nick… Could you go inform Morgan that Grissom wants her in his office now?"

"Okay. What's he going to do?"

"I don't know." – Catherine said. Nick sighed and went to look for her.

----

"Who does she thinks she is?" – Sara shouted, pacing back and forward, in the meeting room.

"Would you mind stop and sit here, please? I need to clean that." – Greg said, pointing to her cut.

She ignored him – "If she thinks she's going to get away with this… Grissom will suspend her and she'll lose her opportunity. That will cost her more than her whole life. It will teach her to mind her own business!" – She snapped.

"You do realize that Grissom will suspend you too, probably? And that that might also cost you your job?" – Greg asked.

She turned to him – "And why would he do that?"

"Because it's not fair punish her and not punish you!"

"She started it all."

"I saw it, Sara." – Greg said, calmly – "You don't need to tell me what happened there, because I saw it. Now sit down and let me handle that."

Sara looked at him, her eyes filled with all the rage she was feeling in that very moment and she sat down and allowed him to clean the cut on her cheek.

He was bandaging it when Catherine appeared in the room – "Grissom wants to see you, Sara. In his office. Now."

Sara swallowed the lump that had formed on her throat when Greg had said that he knew exactly what had happened. She knew that if it came out what she had said to provoke Morgan, she would be screwed. She looked at Catherine and then at Greg, got up and walked to Grissom's office.

"If lose my job because of that screamy little whore, I'll kill her!" – She muttered, on her way to his office.

----

"She hit you pretty hard in here, uh?" – Warrick said while he got the things ready to take care of her bleeding nose and lip, trying to get her to speak. Since they had left the hall, she hadn't said a word.

She winced a little, when he started cleaning the blood off her nose – "Sorry."

As she remained silent, he shot at her – "What happened?"

"Nothing."

"Yeah, right. It was 'nothing' that made you and Sara punch each other. It was 'nothing' that left your nose all turned upside down and maybe broken and left Sara's cheek all bruised and cut."

She didn't answer – "What do you think that is going to happen?"

"Catherine will have to report this to Grissom, since he is the supervisor of our shift. He'll decide what to do. If he suspends you…" – Warrick trailed off.

"I know. I'm sent away and I'll probably lose any opportunity of ever be a CSI." – She finished his sentence – "That bitch!" – She muttered.

"What happened? Who started this?" –He asked.

She stared at his eyes for a moment, before answering, with a brief smile - "If you want to know who gave the first punch, yeah, it was me."

"Why?"

"I don't want to talk about it." – She said.

"You'll have to. You're going to say it to Grissom. You can say it to me too."

She leaned her face down, staring at her hands. Her right hand was all bloody and she reached for a tissue to clean it.

"Morgan…"

She looked up at him – "I'm almost sure that you didn't start all that because of nothing. You can speak to me. Tell me: what made you punch her?"

Just then, Nick appeared in the doorway – "Grissom wants to see you. In his office." – He informed.

She got up and Warrick grabbed her arm – "Hey…" – He called. She hissed when he touched her and hurried to free her wrist from his grasp.

"If you really want to know…" – She said, looking at him and then at Nick – "Ask your friend Sidle. She played with the fire and then she got burned. Too bad!"

Then, she stormed out of the room.


	6. Chapter 6: Unholy Confessions

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episode 'Grave Danger' isn't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

_**PR.Etincelle - **Here it is, next chapter. Sorry for the delay. Updates should be faster from now on. Hope you still like it. Oh, and you don't suck! LY_

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter 6**

When Morgan entered Grissom's office, Sara was already there. She stopped near the door.

"Sit down, Morgan."

"I'd rather stay here, thanks." – She refused.

"As you prefer. Well, I'm going to be really direct on this… what happened out there?"

Before she could even thinking about an answer, Sara started – "She punched me!"

Morgan leaned her face down, and ironically smiled – "Yeah, that's right, I punched you." – She looked up again – "You don't think that I usually start randomly punching people, do you?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You know exactly what it means." – She said back at Sara, who stood up.

"STOP IT! THAT'S ENOUGH!" – Grissom ordered. "This is a Crime Lab. Here, we work; we don't fight each other's."

"Tell that to the weirdo here…" – Sara murmured.

"Enough is enough Sara. Now, I don't want to hear of any fights between you two again, are we clear?"

"If she minds her own business, I won't even talk to her unless I have to, Grissom."

"Look rookie…"

"I SAID: ARE WE CLEAR?" – Grissom stood up – "I'm tired of your fights and you crossed the line today with that sad scene on the hall."

"Are you going to suspend us?" – Morgan asked, feeling a twist on her stomach. She knew that she was screwed. She was going to be fired and her dream was over. _"Dammit, I was so close!"_ – She thought.

"No. Not this time. I have a better idea." – Grissom said, with a grin.

They looked at him, waiting for him to reveal it. "You're going to work together for a week. An entire week, just the two of you."

Sara shook her head – "No. No way, I'm not working with her. Not a chance. Not going to happen."

Morgan shrugged her shoulders – "A week? Okay, fine. It's just six days so yeah; it's not that big a deal."

"That or suspension. You call the shots, Sara."

She stood there for a minute thinking – "Sure." – She took off her ID and put it down on Grissom's desk – "How long will I be suspended?"

Grissom stared at her, a surprised look on his face. When he put himself all together again, he answered – "Two weeks."

"Fine. See you then." – She said and walked out of the room. She passed by Catherine, Nick, Warrick and Greg, who were on the outside waiting for them. She walked to the locker room, grabbed her stuff and left the Lab.

They got in his office and gave him a quizzical look. "Where is she going?" – Catherine asked.

"She is going to be suspended the next two weeks. I've something to ask you: we're going to have to review the schedules for the next two weeks."

"Oh okay. We're going to work on that now, until we're called to the field." – She said, and she pushed them out of the room. Just Morgan stood there, still near the door.

"May I go, Grissom?" – She asked.

"Hold on a minute please…" – He pointed the empty chair in front of him.

She sat and looked at him – "Am I going to be suspended too?"

"No. I proposed that option and you accepted. If Sara didn't, it's not your problem. I'll have to punish you some other way."

"Okay." – She said, getting up.

"Morgan, please… I'm not finished yet."

She sat back – "Sorry."

"I really need to know what happened. I know that you and Sara are both adults, civilized people, who wouldn't start punching each other, just because they don't have nothing else to do. Who started this?"

"I was the one that punched her first. But I only reacted to her words. She provoked me and I reacted. I told her that this wasn't a good day. She didn't care and kept talking. I just had to find a way to shut her up." – She said.

Grissom took off his glasses – "What did she say?"

"I really don't want to talk about that, I'm sorry." – She apologized.

Grissom nodded – "No problem. However, I have to ask you to keep your personal life and your personal issues outside. We all have some partner that we don't really like to work with. I've had that too. You have to manage it, trying that it won't interfere with your performance here. Okay?"

"You're right. I apologize for what happened there. It won't happen again. I'll keep my issues with Sara outside. Don't worry."

"I trust you, Morgan." – He said.

"I know. And I won't disappoint you again, Grissom. You have my word."

"Good then. Oh, another thing I had to talk to you about. You've only taken three days off the last two months."

"Oh… That!" – She murmured.

"Is everything okay?" – He asked.

"Yes. I just… I don't have nothing else to do, here, that's it. Therefore, I work all the time. I don't have anything really interesting to do instead." – She shrugged – "I love my job, what can I do?"

"Everybody needs to rest sometime. I have to take your days off. I don't want any restless people in my team. I need you fresh and rested."

"Okay. I'll starting taking my days off. But only when she returns." – She was about to stood up when she realized – "You said in your team. That means…"

"Yeah. We've told you that. You're on the team. You still are. This incident doesn't change a thing." – He said. She gave him a brief smile.

"Get to work now. I feel that we have a busy night coming…" – He smiled to her.

"Thanks." – She said, getting up. She was about to leave the room when he called her again.

"Morgan… Go take care of that nose." - Grissom advised.

She smiled and nodded - "I will." Then, she left his office and went to catch up with the others in the break room.

"So, do we have any cases already?" – She asked.

"No, not yet. That's good because I'm not finished with your nose." – Warrick told her – "Come on, start walking to the locker room. In fact, you should go to the hospital."

"Hospital? Naa, I don't think so. This is not broken. It doesn't even hurt. It's just the blood that is putting my shirt all dirty."

"It seems that talking to Grissom was good for you. Come on, moving now."

"Okay, okay, I'll go." – She said and started walking – "Yeah. You know what? It lightened my mood, what can I do? Grissom talked to me one on one, not looking at me like a stranger and all. I'm not used to that, but I think I kind of liked it."

"I'm really glad you did. And I'm really glad you're starting to feel better here." – Warrick said, honestly.

She smiled to him – "Me too. Really."

Warrick turned back to the others – "Page us if something shows up."

"Sure." – Nick said, not taking his eyes off the file he was reading.

**(At the Locker Room)**

"This really doesn't look good." – Warrick said, with a serious look.

"Oh, it's nothing. I've been beaten worse. It's just a little cut inside, probably."

"Does it hurt?"

"Not much. Really, it's nothing, Warrick." – She assured him.

"Okay. However, if it starts bleeding again or you have trouble breathing, maybe during sleep, we're going to the hospital tomorrow! End of discussion."

"Right, right." – She roller her eyes – "You can't be really boring, sometimes, you know?"

"I know kiddo… but you like me that way." – Warrick laughed. Morgan shrugged – "Do I have another option?"

"Not really."

They walked back to the break room in silence. Midway there, Morgan spoke – "She insinuated that I only wanted to get Nick into my bed." – She said, in a low tone.

Warrick turned to her, shocked – "No!"

She nodded – "I lost control. That's why I hit her. I don't know what the hell is her problem…"

"I guess she have always liked Nick. But what she said was too much. It doesn't even seem Sara. I know you don't like her."

"I really don't, specially now." – Morgan muttered.

"But she's not like that."

"Are you telling me that is was all jealousy?" – She asked.

"I guess so." – He said – "Too bad she got suspended because of it. What a stupid reason…"

"Tell me about it…" – Morgan couldn't believe it. Sara insulted her because of she was jealous of her living with Nick? What was that thing? _"Aren't we adults?"_ – She wondered.

"You do realize that we'll have to tell Nick?" – He pointed out.

"NO! No. You're not telling him. I'm not telling him. Let's forget this!" – She said, suddenly coming out of her deep thoughts.

"He will find out, eventually."

"He doesn't need to. I don't want him to get pissed with Sara because of me."

Warrick looked at her, with a small smile – "You may hate her but you don't want her to get in a fight with us." – He stated.

"Her problem is with me, not with you guys." – She said – "Now, let's drop this subject, shall we? I need a cigarette."

"Sure. Come on. I'll get you a coffee, rookie." – Warrick offered, smiling to her – _"You really are an amazing person, Morgan. It's a shame you can't see it."_ – He thought.


	7. Chapter 7: My Baby Shot Me Down

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episode 'Grave Danger' isn't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter 7**

Those two weeks without Sara passed really quickly. She was going to return that very night and everybody was a little anxious to see her reaction when see faced Morgan again.

Morgan herself was a little anxious. Deep inside, she didn't want to hate Sara. She was just obligated to, due to the actions that the brunette had been having lately. Because, despite appearing to be a total hateful person and despising the whole world, there were only two people that she deeply hated and she had her reasons. Sara was just someone that had crossed the line (more than she could ever know in many, many ways) and deserved nothing more than Morgan's indifference, not rage or hate or any of similar feelings.

She did her best so that she could arrive late that day. When she entered the Lab, the whole team was in the break room, including Sara. She took a deep breath before opening the door.

"Hey everyone!" – She greeted.

They all greeted her back and an awful silence took over the room, when Morgan and Sara stared at each other for some seconds. Then, Morgan spoke – "Hey, Sara, listen… I-I wanted to…"

Sara cut her off – "We need to talk. Could you come outside for a second?" – She asked.

"Sure." – Morgan said. She took off her jacket and hung it on the back of the chair. She reached for a cigarette and the lighter and followed Sara to the outside of the building.

"Do you mind if I smoke?" – She asked.

"No, no. Be my guest." – Sara told her, staring at the cars that were passing by.

"Thanks." – She said and lighted the cigarette. She took a little breathe and blew the smoke away. After a few minutes of silence, she spoke – "Look, Sara, I know that you don't like me. I guess I may say I don't like you that much either. But, if we both want to keep working here, we have to find a way of stand each other. I'm definitely not going to risk my place here just because you don't like the fact that I'm living with Nick. I tried really hard and worked my ass off to get where I am now and I'm not going to throw it all out."

Sara nodded – "That was just what I was about to tell you. I thought about what happened and I guess I exaggerated a bit. As a matter of fact, I totally lost my mind and I shouldn't have made an insinuation like that one."

"Me and Nick, we're just friends. I don't know if you like him or not, but I'm not sleeping with him, if it was that what you wanted to know. We just share a house."

Sara blushed – "I'm sorry. We may not like each other, but there's something that must remain between us and that is respect. I disrespected you back then and I'm sorry for that."

"It's not much of my nature to start punching people but it just made me furious what you insinuated. I don't like when people comment my personal business. And I couldn't control myself; I was in a bad day too."

Sara held her hand out to her – "Let's forget that and move on?"

Morgan dropped the ash from the cigarette and stared at her hand for a second. Then, she reached for it – "Sure. It's forgotten."

They smiled, briefly to each other and walked back inside. They were about to reach the break room, when Morgan spoke again – "I'm sorry that you got suspended."

"Don't be. It wasn't your fault." – Sara said – "I crossed the line but, fortunately, I'm in time to correct all my mistakes. I'll talk to Grissom now and we'll work it out. Don't worry about that. Oh... and let me say that you have a great right fist."

Morgan laughed – "Thanks. You too. My nose didn't like it much, but you deliver really good punches."

When they got back in the room, everybody was surprised.

"Are you two actually smiling to each other?" – Greg asked, shocked.

They nodded and smiled once again – "What happened doesn't matter anymore. It's essential that we respect each other and we're going to stick there." – Morgan stated. Warrick shared a glance with her, with a triumphant smile. She was really trying earnestly not to tell anybody what had made them fight, to keep the good relation between Sara and Nick untouchable. Morgan caught his eyes and blushed. He walked to her – "I didn't say a word. Don't worry. Nobody will find out, at least, from me." – He murmured. She nodded and silently thanked him.

Just then, Grissom entered the room, with some papers on his hands. "Okay, guys, goodnight. You're all here, that's great because we're tapped out. Nick, a 419 on the Bellagio. Take Morgan. Warrick, you and Greg go to this house right here. Mysterious robbery. Catherine, you have a little girl, possible abuse and violence. She's at the hospital. Sara, you come with me take care of the twins case."

Sara followed him to his office, while Catherine, Warrick and Greg left the room, going to work on their cases. Morgan and Nick stood there, reading the file that Grissom had given them and then walked to his car.

He threw the car keys to her – "You drive this time."

"You sure? I don't want to ruin your car." – She said, a little insecure. She had taken her driver's licence before moving to Vegas and hadn't had much occasions to practise, just some minutes, some trips here and there. She was a good driver, no doubt about that, but she didn't want to crash his car into a wall or something.

"You won't, I'm certain." – He said, with a grin, opening the door and sitting in the place next to the driver's seat.

"I wouldn't be that sure… I haven't driven in almost three months; I still don't have that much practise." – She said, shrugging, as she walked around the car and opened the door of the driver's.

"Well, it's time you start gaining some." – Nick added, as she was clenching the seatbelt.

Morgan laughed and turned on the ignition. "For the record... you were the one that insisted on this."

"I take full responsibility!" – Nick said as he turned the radio on.

"Hold on… you make me drive, I make you listen to MY music." – She said, taking her Creative Zen out of her purse and connecting in to the radio.

"Oh, give me a break… you're not going to put any hardcore/screamo stuff, are you?"

"No. I'm going to put something different. You'll love it." – She assured him. He rolled his eyes – "I bet…"

"Are you familiar with the concept of 'Progressive Rock'?" – She asked, ignoring his insinuation. She was getting used to his teases. Each time she put her stuff playing while she was on the shower, it's was more than certain that, when she come out of it, Nick with be wearing some ear protection or complaining about the noise. Nowadays, she ignored it, cause she knew that he was just teasing her.

"I might have heard something here and there." – He answered – "Why?"

"So, meet the masters…" – She introduced, pressing the 'play' button.

James LaBrie's voice started to echo in the car and soon her voice was joining him. Her favourite band always got her to sing, no matter where or with who she was.

"Her ecstasy means so much to me, even deceiving my own blood, Victoria watches and thoughtfully smiles, she's taking me to my home" – She sang, softly, in a low voice. Nick looked at her and smiled.

"Oops, sorry." – She apologized, when she realized that she was singing aloud. "Dream Theater has the ability to always make me sing. And also to light my mood, everyday. They are really great. This record, Live Scenes from NY, is perfect. It's the soundtrack of my life."

"Don't stop. You sing really nice. I was enjoying hearing you." - Nick smiled and she blushed

"Sorry. I could spend my whole day listening to this and talking about them. They are like my partners. Everywhere I go, they come with me. And their concerts are so awesome." – She said, stopping in the red light – "Okay, I'll shut up now."

"No. Keep singing… please. I was really enjoying it." – Nick asked, gently.

"I don't have a great voice. I can't sing the higher notes like he does." – She said, turning to the left, to the parking lot – "Here we are, at the Bellagio."

"But you sing really well." - Nick said, taking off his seat belt.

"I usually don't sing near other people, it's just that this song always makes me… lose a little bit of control… – She said, turning the ignition off and opening the door.

"You're so stubborn!" – He said back at her, taking his bag out of the car and walking into the casino. She smiled and followed him inside.

"Goodnight Captain." – Nick greeted, approaching the body and Captain Brass, who was standing beside it.

"Her story, it holds the key, unlocking dreams from my memory. Solving this mystery, is everything that is a part of me…" – Morgan approached them and she was still singing quietly.

"What are you saying, Rodriguez?" – Brass asked.

"Oh, nothing Captain. I'm just singing, don't mind me…" – She said and suddenly her voice sounded shocked – "Oh my… what the hell happened here?"

The body that was lying on the floor was female's. She had only her underwear and a shirt covering her and she was lying on her back. Her eyes were wide open and a blood red line was coming out of her mouth. Morgan kneeled beside her and stared at her for a while.

"Those two there found the victim, Amanda Byrne, about forty-five minutes ago. He's her husband and she's her best friend. They found her and called the police immediately. Apparently, the decedent and the husband were staying on the Hotel and he went to the casino, to play cards for a while, leaving her in the room. He found Miss Scott and they were going back to the room, to meet Mrs Byrne when they found her here." – Brass resumed the story to them.

"That's a really crappy story." – Morgan commented – "This woman's face looks like a punch bag, my God!" – She said, reaching for her gloves on her vest's pocket.

"We need to force them to, at least, make up a better excuse." – Nick said, turning to Brass again. "Can you take them in, to testify or so?"

"Sure. They found the body, so of course I can…"

"Great then. Take them. We'll analyse this and as soon as we know something, we'll call you."

"Okay Nick. I'll be waiting." – Brass said and stepped away. He walked to the witnesses and stood there talking to them for some minutes, before take them to the car and drive to the Crime Lab.

"Those guys must think that we're stupid." – Morgan murmured to herself. She searched for a swab and passed it under the victim's fingernails. With a triumphant smile, she put it inside an evidence envelope and sealed it, identifying it.

"You know that speaking to no one could be considered as the first sign of craziness?" – David asked, approaching her.

"Oh, hi Dave. I was just collecting some evidence. The people that found the body told us some crappy story and I may have gotten something that brings it down. And you? Busy night uh?"

"Tell me about it. I should have arrived earlier, but it's hard tonight. So many cases, so little time. Well, I'll analyse her and I'll tell you something in a minute."

"Sure. I'll just discuss something with Nick. I'll be right back." – She got up and took the evidence with her. – "Nick?"

"Yeah. You found something?"

"I swabbed under the victim's fingernails. It seems blood, but I'm not sure. I'm going to ask Chandra to analyse it, see if she can extract any DNA or so."

"Yeah, that's good. Meanwhile, don't forget that we also have the shirt that she was wearing. Could you process it? I'll handle the crime scene, after they removed the body."

"Sure. I'll just let David finish and then I'll take the shirt and see if I can get something more out of her now and I'll go to the Lab."

"Good Morgan thanks."

"They don't know that we've really good experts to analyse the evidences… poor ignorant people." – She said, stepping away.

Nick laughed and looked back to the notes he was taking. A few minutes later, Morgan returned to him with a bag and some envelopes on her hands. "Okay, David took the body and I'm going back to the Lab to process this. Anything and I'll call you."

"Okay. How are you going to go?"

"Yeah, well, that's a problem." – She stated, looking around. "I'll think I'll catch a ride with Dave." - She said, turning to him again and smiling – "See you later."

"See ya." – Nick waved. He watched her going away, with a shy smile on his lips. Nick couldn't explain what was happening to him, but it was something weird, like each time they talked, there was a twist on his stomach, an urge to smile to her, to comfort her. Morgan could be very dense but there were some points that he already had since she had moved in, like her low self-esteem and the fact that she had been hurt several times in the past. Nick didn't know how or by who, and he didn't want to ask either, at least not so soon, but he was hoping that, someday, she would be able to open herself to him, talk about her previous life, before coming to Vegas. He sensed that there was something on her past that she didn't want to show, but he had to find it out, to be able to help her.

**(Crime Lab, some hours later)**

"Dammit!" – She shouted, throwing a book away – "Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!"

"What happened? I just got your message. What do you have?" – Nick asked, entering the room.

"Dammit!" – She hissed again.

"Okay, I now realize that it was your who threw that book.."

"Yeah. Want to know why? Because I have nothing. Nothing!" – She said, pacing back and forth – "I processed that shirt three times and the only epithelials I found were from the husband. This is normal, because the shirt is his, or so he claimed."

"And the blood from the victim's fingernails?" – He asked.

"It's hers. It's probably from one of her wounds, she had so many."

"So..." – Nick started.

"So, we have nothing. Not a single evidence that connects this two to the homicide." – She said, sadly.

"It's just another manic Monday…It happens sometimes." – Nick said, putting his hand on her shoulder – "Don't get so pissed off."

"I know that they did it. I'm sure."

"The DA is going to drop the case, probably. Just forget it, Morgan. We have nothing, we have to move on."

"And Amanda Byrne? She didn't move on… she's dead!" – She said, taking off the gloves and throwing them away – "Don't ask me to forget that." – She snapped and walked out of the room.

"You're going to learn to stay apart of the personal issues of this…" – Nick said, quietly, to himself – "You just need some time."


	8. Chapter 8: Smells Like Teens Spirit

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episode 'Grave Danger' isn't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

_**PR:Etincelle - **I don't like her either, but oh well, I have to keep her in my story. This soonies enough? -smiles-_

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter 8**

"Still thinking about the Byrne case?" – Warrick asked a couple of weeks later. Morgan closed the door of her locker and looked at him – "Yeah."

"Come on… It has passed over a month. I know it's unfair and it kind of revolt us, but with time, you'll get used to it. We all had cases like that one, when the killers got away."

"They murdered her… they should be in prison, not out there, enjoying freedom and spending the money he got from her testament."

"Forget it Rodriguez… there's nothing more you can do." – Warrick said.

"I know… and that's what is getting into me."

He passed his arm around her shoulders – "You should take your days off, you know? You've been working too much."

She nodded – "I'll talk to Grissom after the shift. He told me that a while ago and now I feel that I need some days, to sleep, to rest, to thinking about others things other than corpses and murderers and so."

"Everybody does, once in a while."

"I never felt like it but this case really got me… I felt so powerless. Nobody cared about that woman."

"You'll get yourself sick one of these days, if you keep thinking about that. Things happen, move on. Please Morgan, I'm telling you… I've been there; the best you can do is to forget."

She dressed her vest and put her cell on her pocket. "Now come on… Catherine has something for us. It seems that an old case is going to be re-opened." – Warrick said and kissed her forehead – "And go talk to Grissom to take some days off."

"I will, don't worry."

**(A while later)**

"Okay people, you all drop the cases you're working on. We have to re-open the big case of that guy who raped and murdered three women." – Catherine said, entering the break room.

"That freak, that sick bastard…" – Warrick muttered – "Why?"

"He killed again last night. The day shift analysed all and once again, got nothing strong enough to arrest him."

"It's the fourth lady he kills in four months… We need to stop him." – Sara stated – "What are we going to do?"

"We need to process all three past cases again, try to find something. And process this one too. The guy has to make a mistake someday." – Catherine said, with a sigh – "It's obvious that he kills once a month, so we have exactly one month to process everything, to convince the DA to arrest the guy."

Morgan looked up from the file she was reading – "Earth calls CSI! Could you explain the situation to me?" – She asked.

"Oh, right. You weren't here when the first case occurred." – Catherine realized and then she explained it all – "So, basically, we know who he is, we know that he did it but we don't have enough evidences to put the guy behind bars… "

"Talking about unsolved cases… Here's one." – Nick added.

"And that is so frustrating… he's out there, laughing at us." – Warrick sighed.

"Can I see the whole file? I would like to investigate this better…" – Morgan questioned, getting up.

"Sure." – Catherine said, handing the folder to her. She opened it and read the reports. When she turned the pages to the photos that had been taken to the victim's, she dropped the file.

"Oh God!" – She gasped, in horror.

"What happened?" – Catherine approached her, worried about her suddenly pale look – "Are you all right?"

"That… that girl... The last one." – Morgan tried to catch her breath again – "She was just a kid."

Catherine hugged her – "I know."

She was in total shock about the desumanity of the killer. The girl should be about sixteen years old and her face was all cut and bruised. She could see that she had been strangled and then shot in the chest. She leaned down to catch the file again and after taking a brief look at it again, walked out of the room, to Grissom's office.

She got inside the room and dropped the file on Grissom's desk – "I don't care that I don't have experience or it's too dangerous or whatever… I want this case!"

Grissom looked at the name written on the label – "The McCarter case? No way!"

"Look, Grissom… I have an idea to solve this." – She explained.

"No way, it's too hard."

"He raped and killed a sixteen year old girl!" – She snapped.

"Among other women, yes." – He said, calmly – "Look, Morgan, you were right. What I'm going to say is that you don't have experience. It's a really rough case and you already showed me that you're pretty affected by it. I can't let you work on it."

"Could you listen to me for just a minute? I have an idea." – She tried to calm down and explain what had passed through her mind. Just then, the rest of the team entered Grissom's office.

"Okay. Sit down and tell me your idea." – He nodded.

She twisted her fingers and looked in her supervisor's eyes – "It's awfully clear that he doesn't leave any clues or evidences, anything that allow us to relate him with the crimes. I have a plan to catch him."

"I'm listening…"

"Well, since we do know where he works and his possible connections to the victim's… I could get in."

"What?"

"He runs a market downtown. I would try to be hired and I'll watch him closely during the next month, to see if he has another target or something." – She explained – "I'll keep in touch with you guys everyday, to give you an update and all that stuff."

"So, what you're trying to say is that you're going to work undercover?"

She nodded, waiting for his answer – "Not a chance. Don't you even think about it!"

"Grissom…" – She started – "We need to catch this guy before he kills again. The psychological profile shows us that he will probably start to attack younger women… He needs to be stopped!"

"I agree, but not by you. It's too dangerous."

"I can't believe you're doing this!" – She snapped – "Did you see the last two victim's? The third one, she was MY AGE! The last one… she was a kid."

"Morgan, you can stop right there. The bottom line is that you're not doing this. It's for your own good. Here, we analyse evidences. The dangerous part of it it's done by the experts, not us."

"I need to do it, Grissom, please!" – She asked.

"My final answer is 'No'. You're off the case. Take your free days now. I only want to see you back here in three or four days." – He said – "It's for you own good, Morgan, believe me."

She got up, trembling from all that she was feeling that moment – "You don't get it, do you?" – She asked. Then, she shook her head – _"You're not going to cry, Lynn… no!"_ and left the room.

"What did she mean by that?" – Grissom asked.

"She's pretty affected by this case; I guess that sixteen year girl really shocked her. You should have seen her reaction when she saw the picture of the autopsy." – Catherine explained and sat in front of him – "I do think that she had a good idea, though."

"No, Catherine. I'm not risking her life because of this case."

"Gil… we're in trouble. He will kill again and we can't expect him to make a mistake… we need to do something. We need to act."

"Brass will talk to the Police... they have experts." – Grissom said, taking off his glasses – "We already lost Holly; I'm not putting Morgan's life on the line."

"She is responsible; she knows what she will be doing." – Warrick added. He and the others agreed too that her idea was the best thing to do, but they were unsure of what to do. It was dangerous.

"She is too young. She is twenty two." – Grissom pointed out.

"That could be an advantage. She is the youngest of us all and she never worked on this case. The guy doesn't know her. At least, I think so." – Nick said, from the back. He had been silent until that moment. He didn't want her to go on that 'mission'. They stood there for a couple of minutes, in silence, in which Grissom was taken somewhere else by his thoughts. Being a leader wasn't easy and this was going to be another test. He had passed all the ones that had been put on his hands before, but this one was hard, really hard. He knew that they needed to act and that Morgan's plan was good. However, it's was really risky.

Just then, Morgan went back in the room – "I'm sorry, I forgot to drop my gun here… Here it is." – She said, putting down the gun on Grissom's desk. Then, she looked at him again, coldness all over her eyes, and turned around, leaving the room

"Morgan, wait…" – Grissom said, getting up. She stopped in the doorway. – "Your idea may be risky and totally dangerous, but oh well… It's the best shot we have, right now, if we want to catch this guy. I'll talk to Brass, for you to work undercover on this. But I say the rules."

She turned her head around and nodded, with a grin – "Sure Boss… you call the shots." – Then, she walked inside the room again – "In what depends on me… This bastard will spend the rest of his days in prison."


	9. Chapter 9: The Wicker Man

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episode 'Grave Danger' isn't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

_**high-striker - **Thanks for the review. I'll think about changing the summary after my vacations. Grave Danger will still take a while, because I'm trying to give Morgan and Nick some background that is needed for that episode. But oh well, I like when people criticize my work. Thanks. Hope you like it._

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter 9**

"Okay, you'll have this cell phone. Call us only after getting out of work, but not from here, this is just for us to trace you. If, in any way, he tries to approach you, you tell us immediately and we get you out of there. Same thing, if you suspect that he knows about your plan." – Nick insisted for the millionth time that morning. She was finishing packing some of her stuff in a backpack, to take to the apartment near the market that they had rented and he was helping her. He was really nervous. He had barely slept that night and she had heard him pacing back and forth in the living room really early in the morning.

"Nick…" – She said, with a small smile – "I'm not going to need your sweater, I guess." – She pointed to what he has handing her.

He looked down to his hands – "Oh, sorry. Wrong clothes." – He threw his sweater to the chair and grabbed hers, who was on top of her bed. – "Look… Are you sure about this?"

She took the sweater and put it, carefully, inside the backpack. She closed it – "That was the last one." – She said, trying to ignore Nick's question.

"Morgan…" – He called.

She turned to him – "I don't know if I'm sure about this. I just can't stop to think twice. I have to do it."

"I don't want you to do it…" – He confessed – "I think it's too dangerous. The guy is a freak, a psycho. He can try to…"

Morgan looked at him – "Look, I may seem a weak skinny, but I know how too defend myself." – She walked to him – "Don't worry, nothing's going to happen." – She assured him.

"But..."

Morgan cut him off – "Nick, remember the talk about trust, we had a while ago? That all I ask... for you guys, to trust me. I know what I'm doing."

Nick shrugged – "I guess you do…" – He sighed.

She smiled briefly, hung the backpack on her right shoulder and kissed his forehead – "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

"I hope so." – Nick muttered, as he followed her to the door and watched her calling the elevator.

"I'll call you tonight. See you" – She waved him goodbye before closing the door.

"Be careful!" – Nick advised her, but the elevator was already moving down. He stood there for a while, waiting for her to comeback up but she didn't. "Damn you, Nick Stokes!" – He murmured – "You shouldn't have let her go on this stupid plan…"

**(Downtown, later that day)**

"Mr. McCarter?" – Morgan asked, approaching the man that was sitting behind the desk.

"Yes?" – He said, looking up from the papers he was reading.

"Good afternoon. I saw the poster you had on the door of the market, requesting for an employee. I'm willing to offer my services."

"And you are?"

"Adrienne Scott, Sir." – She said, taking her fake ID and a copy of a résumé that she and Warrick had made up from her purse.

He looked at the resume and then turned his eyes back to her – "Do you have any experience?"

She felt a twist on her stomach and a huge necessity of throw up when he stared at her, clearly checking her out. She swallowed the lump on her throat and answered – "I've worked in my home town in some bars and stores."

"Hometown that is…"

"Cameron, North Carolina. I moved here some months ago." – She clarified – _"At least, this is not a lie…"_

"Okay. You start working tomorrow. Be here by 9 am. We'll talk then."

"Oh, thank you Sir." – She reached for her ID, put it inside her wallet – "I'll be here."

"You better be… I don't like both late waitresses and disobedient ones."

"_And I don't like murderers and rapists, your bastard…"_ – Morgan thought, walking out of the room.

She got out of the market and walked to her new house. It was a little and smelly apartment, but hopefully, she would be back to her house _"Well, Nick's house."_ soon. She stopped in the payphone in front of the building and took some coins out of her pocket.

"Crime Lab, good afternoon, how can I help you?" – Alyssa picked up after a minute.

She disguised her voice – "I would like to talk to Mr. Brown, please."

"Sure. I'll pass the call."

"Thank you." – She said. She tapped her nails on the glass of the cabin, waiting for Warrick to pick up.

"Brown." – His voice sounded.

"Warrick, it's me…" – She said – "Look, I don't have any more coins, I'm on a pay phone. I just wanted to inform you that he hired me. I'll start working tomorrow."

"Good. Look, tomorrow's night, one of us is going to meet you, on the bridge okay? It's near your apartment, isn't it?"

"Yes."

" I'll be the one to meet you tomorrow, in the bridge. At 10pm, is that okay?"

"Yeah, it's fine. I'll be there."

"See you then. Take care."

"See you. I will. Tell everybody I say 'hi', would you?" – She asked.

"I will. Bye." – And then they hung up. Warrick went find the others and tell them that she had called.

**(Next Night)**

Morgan was looking over her shoulder to see if she was being followed. She tightened her jacket and crossed her arms around herself. She saw Warrick's car near by and kept walking to the bridge.

"Hey kiddo." – Warrick greeted.

"Hey." – She said, as he kissed her forehead. – "So, what's up back there?"

"Not much. Always the same old boring work." – He said.

She smiled briefly – "I can't stay much longer." – She warned.

"I know. I just want to give you some clothes and some extra money." – Warrick passed her the bag he was carrying – "We don't want you to get out of coins to calls us."

Morgan chuckled and put the bag down on the floor. "Are you okay?" – Warrick asked.

"I'm just tired. I haven't been sleeping much the last couple of days."

Warrick sighed – "You know that you can always back out."

"I know, but I'm not doing it. Now, I should go. I have to get up pretty early tomorrow."

"Okay then. Call us and we'll set a new date to meet here."

"Sure. I'll talk to you tomorrow." – She approached him and hugged him – "Don't worry."

"Not possible, I have to." – He said, hugging her back – "Take care of yourself, rookie. Be careful."

She pulled back and smiled slightly – "I will." Then, she reached for the bag and walked back to the apartment.

Warrick stood there, watching her go, until she entered the building. Then, he got back into his car and drove off.

**(Two Weeks Later)**

Morgan was walking back to the bridge, repeating the actions she had done six times the past two weeks. She saw Catherine there and swallowed the lump on her throat. She started walking faster and reached her soon.

"Hey." – Catherine greeted, hugging her – "How are you?"

"I'm fine."

"Any news?" – Catherine asked. There was something with Morgan that wasn't right – "What happened?"

"He told me that I have to start working on the late shift, from now on. I think…." – She sighed – "I think he picked me."

"Picked you?"

Morgan took a deep breath – "I'm going to be the next target."

Catherine's eyes widened in horror – "We need to get you out of there. Now!"

"Catherine… I'm so close. Please, don't take me out of the mission. I'm so close now."

"You really want to risk all to get this guy?" – She asked.

"Yes. I know how to defend myself. Everything will be fine. I just don't know when he's going to 'attack'."

"I'll talk to Brass. You'll be watched constantly from now on." – She reached for her phone as Morgan lighted a cigarette. – "Hey Brass. It's Catherine. Look, we need to put someone watching Morgan from now on, okay?"

The phone call went on for some minutes and she could figure out that Catherine was listening attentively to Brass' instructions. When she hung up, she turned back to Morgan.

"So, Brass said that he's going to set an officer to watch you from now on. And, one of us will go to your house to deliver a pizza tomorrow, at lunch time. We'll give you a speaker connected to the Lab. We'll hear all you say and all that's said to you."

"Okay. So, I'll wait for you tomorrow." – She informed and threw the cigarette to the concrete. "I should get going now."

"Be careful… The game is getting dangerous now that's near the end." – Catherine advised.

"I know… But I know this game all too well. I won't mess with the rules and I can assure you one thing: I'll win!" – Morgan said and waved her goodbye.

**A/N: **_I'm going on vacation today and I'll only be back next Saturday so not updates and no reviews from me for a while. I'll catch up with everything when I return and I think I'll write some of the important scenes from this story while I'm there. See you everyone!_


	10. Chapter 10: Here Comes Your Man

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episode 'Grave Danger' isn't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

_**high-striker** - Thanks again for the review. I changed a little bit of the summary now and I hope that it's less misleading. Vacations were nice and now I'm back to writing, full throttle. And I got pretty inspired there. Hope you like this too._

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter 10**

"I'm coming!" – Morgan shouted when the doorbell rang, the next afternoon. She finished combing her hair and ran there.

"Did you order a pizza, Miss?" – The person that was on the doorway asked, when she opened the door. She could barely control her laughter.

"Yes, come on in. I'll get my wallet." – She said. The man got in and she closed the door. She looked at him once again and burst into laughter.

"What?" – Nick asked, taking off the 'Pizza Hut' cap he was wearing – "Is it that bad?"

She tried to control herself – "No, it's just…" – She trailed off and started to laugh again.

Nick shook his head – "Come on, we don't have much time. It's not usual to the deliver boy to stick around much longer."

"It depends on what he's doing…" – She added. Nick gave her a strange look and she quickly changed the subject – "Okay. So, where's the chip?"

He opened the pizza box revealing the micro and the little system she would carry everyday from now on – "So, here's the deal… You wear this everyday at work from now on. If you're in trouble or need anything, you press the red button. That will start some kind of alarm on Archie's system and we'll have access to hear what you're saying. If anything, when you press the button, we'll call your cell phone, okay?"

She nodded. "Now, let's test it." – He added.

"So, where do I place it?" – She asked, taking off her jacket. Nick spotted a huge scar on her right shoulder that was extended down to her arm, to the place where she had a tattoo, an inscription. He realized why she rarely wore tops without a jacket covering her upper arms. The scar wasn't a small one and wasn't much beautiful either.

"Maybe there…" – He pointed to her neck. – "And this little box will be hanging on something around your waist or something."

She nodded in agreement and he handed her the mechanism. She was wearing a green spaghetti strap top. She placed the little box on the back pocket of her black jeans. She was trying to pass the wire through the inside of her top and place the microphone, when Nick spoke.

"Here, let me help you with that…" – He walked to her and took the microphone off her hand. He took her hair out of the way, carefully pulled the top up and pulled the wire up her back. In that position, he was able to read the inscription that made the tattoo she had on her arm, which crossed the scar at a certain spot. He could feel her tense, when his hand went up her back and she relaxed a little when he let go the wire near her neck and backed away.

"Thanks." – She whispered and placed the microphone at the end of the right strap of her top. He nodded. He was wondering why she had that line written in her arm, along with a date. _"Forsaken, fly away with me tonight… July 21st 2001"_ – He, mentally, repeated to himself. _"What the hell does this mean?"_

Nick dialled some numbers on his cell – "Oh, hey Archie… Yes', we're going to test it now." – Then, he turned to her – "Morgan, could you please press the red button?"

She nodded and pressed it. Just then, Nick could hear an alarm ringing on the other side of the line – "Okay, it's working perfectly. Thanks Archie."

He hung up – "Okay, everything seems to be working well. I should get going."

"Okay." – She said and she dressed her jacket, carefully with the microphone. Nick picked the cap up the table and put it back. She followed him to the door and, before opening, he turned back at her.

"I'm not sure about this, Morgan… you should back out now."

She bit her lip and looked down – "I can't, Nick. I was hoping that you would understand but it seems that nobody does… I have to do this. I have to stop this psycho."

"You got it right, he's a psycho. And he might try to…" – Nick shut up abruptly.

"I know, he might try to do the same thing to me that he did to the other girls. But, please try to understand me…"

Nick nodded – "I've tried to understand, really, but I couldn't. Why do you need this so much?"

"That teenager… she was like me. Every single detail. I was as despised as her, I was a totally stranger and a ghost in high school." – She murmured. – "I need to revenge that girl… for me."

Nick listened to her attentively and then did something he had never done before, even though they had lived together for almost three and a half months now. He approached her and hugged her tight – "Please be careful."

She was caught in surprise, she wasn't used to people hugging. But it felt so good, once in a while. She wrapped her arms around him. "I will. Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"He can try to hurt you…"

"He won't." – Morgan cut him off, pulling back – "I won't be like Holly. I won't be injured."

"Maybe not physically. But if we can't arrive there on time…"

"You will. Don't think about it that way." – She assured him – "I promise I'll press the button the same moment I sense that something is wrong."

"Promise?"

"I do. Please, don't worry about me?" – She asked.

Nick sighed and shook his head – "I can't."

"I'll be fine, Nick. I can take care of myself."

"You're too young for this."

"Oh, come on… this is not about age, you know that!"

"Still…"

"As I said, I can take of myself. I've been taking care of myself since I was nineteen, I guess I may say I've been doing a pretty good job. At least, I'm still alive."

"Why are you being so ironic? I'm serious."

"Me too. I'm just trying to get you to not worry about me. I promise that I'll be okay." – She looked deep in his eyes – "Nothing is going to happen to me!"

"I hope, honestly, that you're right." – He said.

Morgan sighed – _"Me too…"_

"But you do know that I'm here if something happens, right?" – He asked.

She nodded. "I'll go flying as soon as you warn the Lab; I've already asked to be warned, it doesn't matter if I'm working or not, Archie will page me the same minute he gets your alarm and I'll drive there to take you out if that bastard tries to do anything to you."

She gave him a weak smile – "Thanks."

**Some Days Later)**

Morgan was the only server on the market at that time. She was putting some stuff on the shelves of the drinks section, when she felt a presence behind her. She took a deep breath and tried to keep working normally. No matter how she tried, she wasn't able to get used to this stupid man always behind her, checking her out. It had always made her sick when someone was checking her out but it was even worse when that someone was a son of a bitch, rapist, murderer and so on. She, clearly, wasn't a person who liked to call the attentions to her, mainly by men. Despite being beautiful, she had never thought of herself as so and tried to keep all that spotlighted her femininity a little hidden.

Regardless whole her 'punk rebel' attitude that had already been criticized even by the Sheriff himself, who had talked several times to Grissom about her, complaining about how having an almost 'emo' person on the Lab would compromise its image and influence on the citizens, Morgan had conquered a big importance on the team. Despite being the youngest, due to her deduction skills, her efficiency on processing evidences and her nice attitude among people she was getting used to work with (her behaviour towards Grissom, Catherine and Brass had always been the best that a supervisor or Captain could ask for), she was really respected on the Lab. They had learned that she knew exactly how most of people, nowadays, react to others that are different from them and how to make a point and stand a position. She had quickly marked her space, established the lines that no one should cross with her (not even the members of the team that were closer to her, like Nick, Warrick and Sofia) and clarified that she wouldn't let anyone question or step on her integrity (like the little 'problem' she had had with Sara).

Other than this, she faced her work and her life too, always the same way: one day at a time, one foot after the other… Nothing would cross her way and she wouldn't cross anyone's way. That was the key to her well-being and she had already passed that image to the outside.

When she leaned down to put some packages on the bottom shelf, she felt someone pinching her. She got up rapidly and turned around.

"Mr. McCarter, what are you doing?" – She asked. She knew exactly what the hell he was doing, but she was just hoping that he could leave her alone and let her work and get out of there as soon as possible, so that she could call Brass. A little voice deep inside her was telling her to warn the others that exact moment, but she refused to do it.

He grabbed her arm, making her drop the packages. – "Let go of me!"– She demanded, trying to break free. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" His grasp on her arm was too strong and she winced when he twisted her wrist.

"Shut up!" – He snapped, slapping her hard in the face. She fell to the floor, holding her right cheek – _"It's now, Lynn, come on… Press the button!"_ – She reached for her pocket and pressed the button. He caught her doing it and took it out of her hand.

**(At the Lab)**

Greg was passing by Archie's workroom and he heard some alarm starting to sound. He stuck his head out the door and saw him near the coffee machine – "Arch… You better come see this." – He called.

When he got in the room, Archie heard the alarm and put the headphones, so that he could listen to what was being said wherever Morgan was. After some seconds, he released one of his ears and said – "Greg… go get Nick and Warrick. Quickly!"

**(Back on the Market)**

"So, you little whore… you thought that you could trick me?" – He shouted, slapping her again. He had been beating her since she had sounded the alarm. When he had found the little box, McCarter had twisted her arm around her back, making her crying out in pain, and dragged her to his office, on the back of the market. The communicator had been left behind on the floor. When Morgan realized that she had lost the only way that enabled her to communicate with the Lab, she quickly made up a strategy to make them found her. While McCarter was dragging her to the back of the market, she managed to, with the help of her teeth, unclasp her leather bracelet. She bit it and carried it between her teeth until the door that directed to McCarter's office. When they passed through it, she dropped it and made sure it stood near the door so that Nick could find out where she was.

"_You promised me you'd come… __"-_ She thought to herself and closed her eyes. – _"You promised…"_

"You thought that I was going to be tricked by some imitation of a cop?" – He snapped.

He had thrown her against the wall and was pacing back and forward in the room. When he snapped at her and turned back to face her, she spat some of blood she had on her mouth to his face – "I think I tricked you pretty well, uh?" – She challenged.

His answer was another punch, this time to her stomach. She fell to the floor, gasping for air. Then, when he pinned her by straddling her waist, she realized that her only exit was if the team had received her alarm.

"_Nick, I need you. Please, don't fail me."_ – She thought to herself – "_Please, get here on time… please…"_


	11. Chapter 11: Savin' Me

**A/N:** Yeah, I'm not going to say 'Hope you like it' or 'Review' or whatever... I don't even know why I'm updating this anyways...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episode 'Grave Danger' isn't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

_**Arwennicole - **Thanks._

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter 11**

"I heard some screams but he found the microphone and ripped it off her shirt, because I lost track of them after a while. She was demanding him to release her or something and I guess he started beating her too, because I heard her wince. It was the last thing I heard before the connection went out." – Archie explained. The team was all reunited in his workroom and they were wondering what to do.

"We have to go there… he's going to kill her!" – Nick insisted. He couldn't stop moving back and forward in the room and was cursing himself for the moment he had let himself agree with this stupid, dangerous idea.

"I've already sent Brass there… He knows what to do."

"Well, I'm not going to stay here. I'm going after them." – Nick said and left the room, walking to his car.

Catherine meant to follow him – "I'm going to talk to him. He can't go there."

Warrick stopped her – "No. Let him go. And we should go too. Now it's two members of this team that are out there, trying to catch this psycho."

Catherine looked at Warrick, then at Grissom and then back at Warrick – "Come on, I'll drive." – She said. The others followed her to the car and they drove off.

On his way to the market, all that Nick could think off was that he wasn't going to allow that bastard to hurt Morgan, no matter what. He had promised her that he was going to be there and he wasn't going to break his promise. He couldn't break this promise!

His cell started ringing – "Stokes." – He answered.

"Nick, it's Brass. We have got here already. Grissom called me and said you were coming too. We have to get in."

"Wait. I'm getting in too. I'm near there. Just give me two minutes."

"She might not have two minutes, Stokes. Or you hurry or we get in."

Nick hung up and threw the cell phone to the floor of the car. – _"Please hang on, Morgan… I'm almost there."_

**(At the Market)**

The man had heard the alarm of the police – "Dammit!" – He cursed. He walked back to the place where Morgan was lying on the floor – "Get up you bitch!" – He snapped. He had already beaten the hell out of her, when he had realized that his 'master plan' had been ruined by a girl. How could such a young woman fight so much? was the question that had been haunting his mind for the past minutes. She had struggled back like hell.

As she didn't seem to have any intention to move, he kicked her side – "I said 'Get up'!"

She winced but got up slowly. She lifted her head up and looked at him deep in the eye, passing her tongue through the thin line of blood that was coming out of her mouth.

"You warned your friends…" – He shouted. Her ironic, and almost teasing look, was provoking him even more and getting him more nervous. Actually, it was driving him insane. _"How can she be so calm?"_ – McCarter was wondering. He could kill her in that same moment. She could be a cop but she was disarmed and he was way stronger than she was. How could she be so relaxed? He had almost raped her moments before. He was midway there, he had already ripped off a part of her jeans and he had only stopped because of the Police alarms that could be heard everywhere in the neighbourhood.

She looked at him with a challenging smile – "You're going to spend the rest of your miserable life in prison for what you did to those girls."

He went to hit her again but she moved out of the way this time. She felt a new strength building inside her, something that made her blood travel faster in her veins and her body move without even think about it. Remembering that she was going to revenge those girls was all that she needed that moment to keep hanging on until the Police get there. She grabbed his arm and kicked him in the stomach. McCarter was thrown back and she was able to get herself out of his trap (she had been 'locked' between him and the wall). She ran to the door and tried to open it but he got up and grabbed her by her waist, taking her away from the door – "Where do you think you're going? You're mine now!"

She elbowed him, trying to break free but he kept the grasp around her too tight. He took a little razorblade out of his pocket and put it near her neck – "Now, stop playing would you?" – He asked.

**(On the Outside)**

Nick stopped his car and hurried to the place where the police officers were standing.

"Okay, Nick, we're getting in. Be careful with your back and do what I say. Never, and I repeat, never talk or move or something without me giving you permission. We all want to walk out of there safe and with the guy with handcuffs on his wrists." – Brass told him. He approached him in a lower voice – "I want Rodriguez to walk out of there alive and in one piece too… you have to follow my orders. Don't go after her without thinking okay? I've done this before."

Nick nodded and followed Brass. They were walking with their guns in front of them, ready to shoot if it was necessary. When they entered the market, everything was silent. They inspected the aisles and found the communicator on the floor.

"They're not here…" – Brass stated, putting the gun down. He lifted up the radio speaker and informed the outside that the suspect had abandoned the scene and that they were going to walk out the market. Nick was focused on the communicator – _"No, it can't be…"_

Brass approached him and put his hand on his shoulder – "Come on, let's go. There's nothing here, Nick."

They were about to leave when something caught Nick's attention. "Hold on, Brass… there's something there."

He walked to the door in the end of that aisle and kneeled in order to reach something that was on the floor. Brass followed him, asking – "What's that?"

He got up and motioned for them to walk to the outside, trying not to make any noise. When they passed the doors of the market, he turned to Brass showing what he had found.

"This is her studded leather bracelet. They must be inside that room. She wears this all the time, she must have left it behind for me to track her… she knew that I was going to be here."

"How?"

"I had promised her that I would come to take her out of here, if that son of a bitch put a hand on her."

"Okay, so let's move. McKenzie!"

"Yes, Sir?" – A police officer approached them.

"Get your men ready to break in. Me and Stokes, we're going in first but you come right after us, ready to shoot. The suspect is dangerous and may have a weapon."

The officer nodded and went to follow the orders Brass had given him. The Captain turned to Nick and said – "You sure you want to do this? This is much more dangerous than before…"

"I promised her…"

Brass nodded – "Okay then. It's your choice, I can't teach you out of it."

"That is right… you can't. I'm going."

Brass shrugged and said – "But you still have to follow my rules."

"No problem Captain. I will do exactly what you ordered before."

Brass reached for his gun and sighed – "Let's do this." Nick nodded and followed him to the inside of the building. They walked silently to the door where he had found the bracelet and stopped one on each side. Brass brought his gun up and motioned for Nick to do the same, trying to make the less noise possible. They were able to hear some moans coming from the inside of the room.

"On the count of three…" – Brass whispered. Nick nodded – "I'll cover your back."

"One, two… THREE!" – He said, kicking the door – "Las Vegas Police, put the gun down!"

The man, which had his back turned to them, turned around revealing a razorblade on Morgan's neck. Nick's eyes widened in shock and he lowered his gun a little, surprised with her condition: she had, for sure, broken her nose this time and a line of blood was coming out of her mouth. Her hair was all messed up, with some streaks falling from the ponytail, covering her forehead and eyes. Her clothes were dirty with dust and blood and her jeans were ripped above her knee. She had, obviously, struggled a lot against him. Surprisingly, her expression was calm and almost relaxed as if she wasn't being threatened.

"I said 'Put it down'... NOW!" – Brass ordered, pointing his gun to the attacker. Nick focused himself again and did the same, keeping his hold firm, pointing the gun to McCarter's direction.

"Which gun?" – The man asked, ironically. He knew exactly that they would never shoot against him if he was holding the girl this way. He knew Brass all too well and he knew that Brass would never put someone's life on the line that way.

"Don't play with me, McCarter… Put that down and let her go."

"Why should I? She came here and I paid her all this time. She was passing information about me to the cops. It's time for me to have my revenge."

Nick stood there; quiet, with his gun pointed to the guy's chest. He felt anger and disgust pulsing on his veins as the guy continued speaking.

"She was struggling a little while ago but now I got her quiet enough for me to do what I want… Tell me, bitch, have you ever done it with audience?"

She was silent. His grip on her neck tightened a bit and the blade started cutting her – "I asked you something!"

"Let her go, McCarter!" – Brass screamed. The guy ignored him, staring at Morgan's suffering face, waiting for her answer.

"No." – She answered, swallowing the lump on her throat. She was fighting not to give up but it was getting harder and harder with each second that was passing. Seeing Brass and Nick over there in front of them, listening to these insults was embarrassing her even more than she had ever thought it was possible.

"I thought so. Tell me, how old are you?"

"Go to hell!" – She muttered, barely moving her lips. The blade cut her neck deeper and she closed her right fist and winced, biting her bottom lip, controlling herself.

"Come on, you're not making this easier, bitch… HOW OLD ARE YOU?" – He screamed, putting more pressure on her neck.

"She's twenty-two." – Brass snapped – "Now, release her!"

"Oh, twenty-two…" – He continued, ignoring them – "It surprises me if you even got to do it… it would be your first time, wouldn't it?" - He flipped her around, so that she was now with her back turned to Brass and Nick and the rest of the officers that had joined them, meanwhile. The razorblade was now on the back of her neck – "I'll make this an evening that you will never forget." – He said, approaching his face of hers. Morgan winced.

Just then, Nick saw that he had started to bite the front part of her neck. Just mere seconds later, Morgan's knee went up and hit him between his legs. The guy cried out in pain and dropped the blade. Somehow, he was able to remain on foot and take his gun out of his jeans, pointing to her as she started to step back. "You try that one more time and I…"

"What are you going to do? Shoot me? You would have done that already, if you really wanted to." – She shouted.

He pulled the trigger at the same time that other shot was heard behind him. His bullet passed close to Morgan's waist and he screamed and fell to the floor. The bullet that had been shot from behind them had hit his shoulder and blood was everywhere.

"Rick!" – Brass said, surprised.

"I found the back door and I was there listening to the whole thing. I thought now was the right moment to act." – Warrick said, approaching them.

"Couldn't have chosen a better one…" – Brass added.

Nick walked to Morgan who was still in the very same place. She had covered her wound with her hand and was trying to catch her breathe. Nick wrapped his arm around her shoulders, realizing that she was in a total shock.

"Come, let's sit over there… you're be having trouble breathing in a while with all that blood on your nose." – He said, in a low, soft tone, trying to get her to come out of that haze. He hadn't realized yet that she had an injury on the right side of her waist. He motioned for her to move but her knees collapsed. He was able to hold her before she fell to the floor and he carried her to a table that was near by. He sat her on the table and discovered her injury. "Oh my…" - Nick took a deep breath, trying not to make her even more nervous and passed his hand through her hair – "I'll be right back, okay?" She didn't react and he stepped away, going to meet Brass.

"We need the paramedics here." – He was talking on the radio to the outside of the building. – "As fast as you can… the suspect has been shot and he is losing much blood."

"He could bleed to death…" – Nick muttered. – "Brass, she needs to be seen by a doctor. Urgent. The bullet that the guy shot passed really close to her and I guess she is in shock. She didn't say a word since Warrick shot the guy or moved a muscle. She almost fell to the floor two seconds ago."

Brass shook his head – "She shouldn't have risked her life like this…"

"I should maybe clean her nose and put some pressure on the wound right? At least, until the paramedics get here… It's not deep, but it's bleeding and she is also losing blood from her nose…" – He didn't know exactly what to do.

Brass pointed to a little sheet that was on one of the shelves of McCarter's office and started speaking to the radio again – "Captain Brass here. I need two ambulances instead. A CSI has been injured. I repeat: a CSI has been injured."

Nick went to get the sheet and then he came back to where Morgan was sitting. He ripped the sheet in smaller pieces and took her hand that was covering the wound on her waist and put his own, making pressure on the spot, trying to stop the bleeding.

"Morgan, please, say something…" – He asked, looking deep into her eyes. They seemed lost in space, staring at nowhere. He felt a cold chill on his spine, just by looking at her. _"Damn, why did I let you do this?"_

She looked at him and said nothing. He took her hand and put it on the place that his was. She held the piece against her waist, while he grabbed another one and started to clean her face. She winced when he touched her nose. Nick kept cleaning the blood, carefully – "I told you I'd come to get you out… I promised. I'm going to get you out of here okay?"

She nodded and he helped her standing up. But her knees collapsed again and he picked her up, carrying her out of that damn room. She curled up against his chest and leaned her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes, trying not to think about what had just happened or feel the sharp pain on her right side. He kissed her forehead – "Everything's going to be okay. I'm here now and I won't leave you. We're taking you to the hospital, they will take care of you. He won't touch you again, I promise." – He whispered to her – "Everything's going to be okay soon."


	12. Chapter 12: Be My Escape

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episode 'Grave Danger' isn't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

_**soccerstar - **Here's your answer. Thanks. Hope you like this too._

_**AgentangelBoothslover - **Thanks._

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter 12**

The doctor walked out of the room where she was and directed to the chairs where the team was sitting, waiting for updates on her condition.

"Are you the relatives of Miss Rodriguez?" – He asked.

They stood up and Grissom spoke – "Yes, doctor. I'm Gil Grissom and this is my team. Miss Rodriguez is a part of it. I am her supervisor."

"Oh. Doesn't she have any family here?" – He questioned, looking around.

"No, she doesn't. Morgan is from Cameron, North Carolina. She doesn't have any family here in Vegas and we don't have any way of contacting her family." – Grissom explained – "How is she?"

"She has a broken nose and several bruises. I believe she was pretty beaten up. She was having some trouble breathing when she arrived here so we put her on oxygen and kept it after treating her, just in case. She has also that wound on her right side, from the bullet. She was lucky, because if it had indeed hit her, it would have been very dangerous and she would probably have to go into a very delicate surgery. Happily, it's just a wound that only as to be good taken care of so that it won't get infected… nothing more. But honestly that's not what is worrying me the most." – The doctor confessed.

They looked at him, concerned. – "She appears to be suffering from what we call pos-traumatic stress. It's understandable but she got into a very difficult and kind of dangerous state. I'll keep her tonight for observation and if she shows any sign of recovery, tomorrow I can release her. However, I have to ask: does she live alone?"

"No, sir. Morgan and I, we share an apartment." – Nick explained – "Why?"

"It's not advisable for her to live alone in the next few weeks, until she is fully recovered from this. I mean, this can be only temporary, but it can also be very serious. This reaction after an episode like today's it's usual. She seems to have entered some sort of catatonic state. I think it's not needed but I'll say it still: obviously she won't be able to work for a while."

They all nodded in agreement – "I'll keep an eye on her." – Nick said.

"Perfect then. I think that Miss Rodriguez has the will of recovering and forget this as soon as possible, so she may start talking again soon, but nothing is sure in this cases. We'll release her tomorrow if everything is stable as now, as I said." – The doctor added.

"Thank you Sir. Can we see her?" – Catherine asked.

"Sure. But the hospital policy only allows two visitors at the same time." – He explained – "I think she fell asleep a few minutes ago and I'll just ask you to try not to wake her up."

Catherine and Grissom went in first and they came back about ten minutes later. Grissom had been paged and they were leaving, going back to the Lab.

"Crime never stops in Vegas…" – He said – "You two don't worry… Sara and Greg will understand and take your places."

"Thanks Grissom." – Nick and Warrick said at one voice. Nick walked to her room and Warrick stood there some seconds longer, making sure he wasn't needed in the Lab that night.

"You're needed here the most." – Catherine told him – "You and Nick are much more attached to her than the rest of us. Stay with her. I've warned Sofia, but she's out of town. She went to solve something in LA, Ecklie sent her there."

Warrick nodded and went to follow Nick, who was looking at Morgan's sleeping form from the doorway.

"She will be okay."

Nick nodded and sighed – "I promised her I would protect her… Look at her, Warrick! She's all beaten up. Not to mention the trauma she got. I shouldn't have allowed her to do it."

"None of us should but she's stubborn. She was going to do this anyways."

"I think now I know a little bit how you felt when we lost Holly."

"It's was much worse, man. Holly died because of me. We didn't lost Morgan and we won't lose her. She is just going to need some time to recover of this. But, in the future, she will open her eyes to see that she put that guy in prison for life for what he did to those girls and for what he did to her." – Warrick replied – "Besides, you had nothing to do with this. You risked your life too, by going in there with Brass."

"She trusts me now, man. I finally got her to come out of her shell and she needs something to rely on. You can't imagine how distrustful she is, how low her self-esteem is. And what that bastard was telling her today… I just didn't shoot at him because I was afraid I could hit her."

They fell into a deep silence for almost twenty minutes until that some machine started beeping. They approached the bed and figured that she was waking up. She opened her eyes and looked at them, confused for a moment. Then, she tried to take off the oxygen tubes.

"No, no, keep that… You need that to breathe better" – Warrick, calmly, said putting the tubes back – "How do you feel?"

She didn't answer and lifted her hand to touch her neck, where the rapist had bitten her and where the blade had made a little cut. Nick and Warrick shared a glance before Warrick's pager started beeping.

"Oh, great, I'm needed there… it seems that the crime scene is worse that they thought at first." – Warrick said, putting it back on his pocket. He reached for her hand and kissed it – "I'll come back tomorrow to see you, kiddo."

She nodded her head and moved her lips for the first time, when he was walking out of the room, near the doorway.

"Warrick…" – She called in a very low voice. He turned back – "Thank you."

He smiled to her, moving his head in a 'you're welcome' signal. Then, he left. Nick stood there for a while, before sitting carefully at her side.

"When can I go home?" – She asked. She tried to sit up but he stopped her – "Nick, I don't want to stay here. I want to go home."

"Schh, you have to stay lying down. You're going to go home tomorrow. You have to stay here tonight, for observation, just in case."

She tilted her head back and sighed. "How do you feel?" – He asked.

"Like I've been hit by a truck…" – She shrugged – "But I don't want to think about it…"

"You should try to get some sleep." – He advised.

"I don't think I can." – She answered, staring at the ceiling.

Just then, a nurse came him to change the bag of saline – "I'm going to give you a medicine, Miss, for you to sleep." – She informed. Morgan opened her mouth to protest but, before she could, the nurse was already explaining – "Doctor's orders. It works as a painkiller too."

"I'm not taking it." – She said.

"Come on, Miss. This is a weak sedative, it's just to calm you a little and give you a good night sleep." – The nurse explained, picking up the syringe.

Morgan shrugged and shook a little when she felt the syringe stinging her arm. After giving her the whole shot, the nurse wished her 'Good Night' and left the room. Nick passed his hand on her hair and took it out of her face, leaning down to kiss her forehead.

"I'm going to let you sleep now." – He said, kindly – "I'll be back tomorrow morning, to pick you up and take you home, okay?"

She nodded and he could figure that the sedative was already starting to have some effects. He got up but Morgan held his hand – "Nick…" – She called in a sleepy voice – "Could you stay with me?" – She asked.

He stayed there for a minute thinking before shaking his head in agreement. He sat back on her bed and pressed the button to call the nurse.

"Yes?" – She asked, appearing in the doorway – "You need anything?"

"I just wanted to ask if I can stay with her, tonight? I'll sleep on a chair or something…"

"Oh… Sure, I'll bring you one." – She said, smiling politely. Then, she went to get the chair.

Morgan looked at him, with drowsy eyes and whispered, as she was starting to fall asleep – "I'm sorry, it's just that…"

Nick shushed her – "Don't be silly and just sleep… I'll stay here." She closed her eyes, little by little and fell asleep. The nurse brought the chair and she put it in front of her bed, trying not to making any noise that could wake her. He saw that Morgan was still holding his hand and whispered to the nurse – "Couldn't you get the chair closer? I'm sorry…" – He apologized, pointing to their hands.

"No problem, Sir. Here it is. I understand that you want to stay near your girlfriend." – She whispered back at him, with a smile.

"Oh, no, she's not my girlfr…" – He tried to clarify that point but the nurse had already left the room. He sat on the chair and caressed her hand with his fingertips. Then, a few minutes later, he too fell into a deep sleep.

**(Next Morning)**

_Voices… He could hear someone calling his name… it seemed to be far, far away… "Leave me" – He muttered. The person started to shook him, by his shoulders. "Wake up…. Nick. Wake up!" – The person was saying._

"What the hell…" – He muttered, opening his eyes. Warrick's mocking face appeared in front of him – "God! I was about to go and throw a glass of water in your face."

"You mother never told you that you shouldn't wake up people like that?" – He replied, rubbing his eyes.

"Schh, lower your voice… she's still asleep." – Warrick warned, pointing to Morgan's sleeping form on the bed. – "You two were so cute, holding hands… The night's shift nurse said you stayed that way the whole night…"

Nick just ignored him and went outside, directing to the bathroom. Warrick followed him to the hall, shrugging his shoulders – "You're falling for her man, and you can't even notice…"

Nick turned around – "What the hell is that silliness that you're saying?"

"The truth… I'm saying the truth. You're falling harder and harder for her and you can't even notice."

"No, I'm not." – Nick said, coming back to him – "What did you get that idea from?"

"Nick… I've known you for what? Seven, eight years? You can't trick me… You have the same look on your eyes that you had when you met Kristy…"

"That was a long time ago, man… Don't bring Kristy here. And just because you're in a 'love' mood with whatever-her-name-is, doesn't mean that we all have to be like that too."

Warrick shook his head – "Why can't you just admit it?"

"Oh... Let me see: first, because I am not falling for her. And second because, even if I were, which I'm not!, I'd screw her life. She was already screwed enough times; she doesn't need me to do it more…"

Warrick stared at him, shocked – "What? What's that whole babble full of stupid reasons about?"

Nick sighed – "Wake up man… She's a kid. She's twenty-two and I'm…"

"No, I can't believe your saying that…" – He cut him off. – "Okay, you're thirty-three, a little older than her. So what?" – Warrick shook his head – "It doesn't even seem you talking, I can't believe you're saying that…"

"It's true. And besides, we live together and work together… it can't happen!"

"Can you stop for a moment and listen to the stupidity you're saying?"

"No. I don't even want to think about it. End of discussion. Now, I'm going to put some water on my face and then, I'm taking her home. And I don't want to talk about this anymore, okay?"

Warrick shrugged – "Sure, I don't want to get into a fight with you, Nick. I was just trying to get you to see the reality."

"I am seeing the reality…" – Nick snapped, turning his back to him and walking to the bathroom – _"It can't happen…"_


	13. Chapter 13: Vicious Traditions

**A/N:** Major note in this chapter: something will be revealed, something that will make you understand more why Morgan is so... well, "Morganish". This something is a very serious subject that I tried to write as real as possible, as the circunstances demanded. If you think it's too shocking or something, please don't read. Here's the warning.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episode 'Grave Danger' isn't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

_**SweetSas - **Warrick is sweet (I could use him as a close friend) and Nick... well, let's just not go there or I'll stay here the whole day talking about him (mhamy!). Morgan is kind of freaky uh? You ain't seen nothing yet. -blinks- Soon enough?_

_**Arwennicole - **Thanks hun. Creepy chapter with confused Nicky on the way.. Ahaha, I'm mean! -smiles-_

_**someone-still-loves-you - **This soon enough?_

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter 13**

While walking back to the room, Nick thought about Warrick's words. Could it be true? Could he be falling for Morgan without even noticing it? _Naaah_, he tried to convince himself. He saw her as a great friend, almost like a little sister of his. He cared about her; about her safety, as if she was a part of his family… was it possible? Loving her without knowing? Nick shook his head… of course she was astonishingly beautiful and had a great personality, but they were housemates, teammates and more important of all: she was much younger than he was. It couldn't happen. As if she would ever like him… they were so different! Well the opposites attract themselves, they say. No, but not this case. This was different. The bound they shared was different, unexplainable… Maybe love? He shook his head once again and waved those silly thoughts away. No, it couldn't be! _Forget it, man!_, he ordered to himself.

"Mr. Stokes?" – Someone called.

"Yes? Oh, hey, good morning doctor." – He greeted.

"Good morning Sir. Look, I just come out of Miss Rodriguez' room and I think she can go home now. First, I wanted to talk to her housemate. I believe that it is you, right, Sir?"

"Yes, that's right. We've been sharing an apartment for four or five months now." – He informed.

"I thought it had been you who had said that yesterday, but I wasn't sure."

"Something happened?" – Nick asked.

"Well, I really don't know how to say this…" – The doctor started.

Nick gave him a quizzical look – "Excuse-me, sir, but I don't think I'm getting it."

"I'm sorry, I'll go right to the point… Yesterday, when Miss Rodriguez was assigned here, we followed the hospital policy as we do with all our patients and we examined her carefully, to detect all her injuries and take care of all of them properly so that she could be going home as soon as possible."

"Yes, and we didn't thought about another attitude that could be taken by you, Sir."

"Thank you. As I was saying, while I was examining her, I noticed some cuts on her arms. Analysing briefly the dept and the amount of cuts, I concluded that those weren't injuries that had resulted from the assaulter of the case that Miss Rodriguez was working in."

"Hold on a minute… what are you trying to say to me?"

The doctor took a little pause and motioned for them to go to the chairs near by. They sat down and he spoke again – "Mr. Stokes, I believe that those cuts were created by a razorblade and a scissor… intentionally."

Nick stood there thinking for a minute, before understanding what was implicit on what the doctor had just said. Then, his eyes widened in surprise and he was speechless. How? How could she have done it? No, it's wasn't possible.

"You think it was her who did it?" – He asked, in a low tone.

The doctor looked at him in eye and nodded – "Unfortunately, she wouldn't be the first or the last to do it… I think so, yes."

He was stunned: suddenly, it all made sense. Those striped wrist covers she used all the time were to hide the cuts she had. The flinch she had let out when Warrick had grabbed her arm once was due to the more recent cuts. But why? Why did she do it? Nick couldn't figure it out.

"A-and can you tell me if they were recent?" – He asked.

"Some of them were really old and others were fresh. There were scars over scars. She must have started this ritual three or four years ago, and probably she still does it. There were some that were recent, despite being already healed."

Nick shook his head, not wanting to believe in what he was hearing. The doctor put a hand on his shoulder – "Mr. Stokes, I know it's hard to understand, but Miss Rodriguez will need all your support now. She doesn't know that we know what she has been doing and when she finds out, she will feel embarrassed and ashamed. She seems to be a very distrustful person (the average people that have this habit usually) and she might get even 'worse' if this comes up, if you know what I mean. I'll have to ask you not to comment this with anybody else."

Nick nodded – "Of course. I'm just…." – He trailed off.

"Shocked?" – The doctor inquired.

"Yes, I guess so. I never thought she could do something like this but it kind of makes sense now. It's like some pieces of a puzzle are getting together in my head, you know?" – He explained. He had always thought that was some kind of strange the way that Morgan barely ever allowed her emotions to come out. Never had he seen a tear stream out of her eyes, make her smile was almost an impossible mission the most part of the days and make her laugh was extraordinary… just on really special occasions. He had questioned himself many times how could she be so damn cold, sometimes. Well, there was the answer: she managed to let her emotions to come out from some other way and directed them to exit her body using her blood as transportation… God, it was kind of creepy!

"This is a way that many people have of drowning their pain. Seeing the blood and feeling the blade against their skin brings them a sensation that relives them from the reality and their daily routine. They feel unhappy, and usually have a childhood trauma or something that makes them do it."

They stood silent for a minute – "How can I help her, sir?"

"Honestly? I don't know Sir. Try to make her feel better… talk with her about it, maybe. I don't know. I'll give you the contact of a psychologist that is a friend of mine and you better ask him. He's a great experience on this cases and he will help you, give you some tips…"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome Sir. Now, go see her, I guess she is about to wake up. Take her home." – The doctor smiled, standing up and shaking Nick's hand. – "Miss Rodriguez is lucky of having a friend like you, Sir, if you allow me to comment."

Nick smiled briefly – "I'm the lucky one, Sir. Believe me." – He said and walked away. He was about to enter her room, but the nurse asked him to wait outside, as Morgan was getting dressed to go home. Warrick had brought her some clothes and was waiting outside too.

"You still pissed with me?" – Warrick asked.

"No, Warrick. I'm not pissed with you. I just didn't like what you said…" – Nick answered, turning to him – "I thought you knew me a little better than that."

"I wasn't criticizing you man! I was just concluding something."

Nick shrugged – "Okay. As you want…"

"Come on, you're not going to get mad at me because of this, are you?"

"No. All that I want now is to take Morgan home and take a shower… And sleep a little." – He said. The talk with the doctor had turned his head into a melting pot. He needed to sleep. To forget what he had just found out, if only for some moments, before deciding what was the best to do…

Just then, the nurse called them to get inside the room.

"Good Morning, sleepy." – Warrick greeted. Morgan looked at them and gave them a brief smile. She knew she was going home and she couldn't be more anxious to leave the hospital. She had been good taken care of, that wasn't the deal, but she had just hated hospitals, ever since... She shook her head. No, she wasn't going to remember it!

"Hey guys." – She greeted back, getting up from the bed.

"Ready to go?" – Warrick asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be… I want to get out of here."

"And you're going to. Come on… let's go home."

They walked to the entrance of the hospital and while she was thanking the doctor and the nurses for all the cares they had had with her, Warrick went to get his car. Nick stayed at the entrance of the hospital and then they got in the car and Warrick drove off.

"Well, here you are… home, sweet, home. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to drive to mine. I need to sleep. This was a long shift." – Warrick said, stopping the car in front of the building.

"Sure, Warrick. Thanks for the ride. See you later." – Morgan said.

"Oh, hold on… 'Later'? Are you kidding me? You said you were going to take your days off after this and the doctor said you won't be working for a while. You're staying at home Miss and we don't want to hear any complaining, isn't that right, Nick?"

Nick smiled – "Of course. You're staying at home at least for a week."

"But…" – She was about to start protesting when they shushed her.

"You have to take some days off anyways, so no complaining!" – Warrick warned. – "Well I see you Nick later at work. I don't want to hear him speaking about you being pissed because you're trapped at home."

She shook her head – "You two are incorrigible."

"We know… so are you, my dear. See you later Nick. Bye bye rookie."

"Oh, come on… you aren't really going to make me stay home for a week, are you?" – Morgan asked when they got into the house.

Nick nodded – "Doctor's orders."

"I'm fine. I can go…"

"No, you're not. You're staying home for some days and that's the bottom line!" – He snapped cutting her off. As she stood there, looking at him, wondering where that had come from, he turned his back to her and walked to his room. He left it some seconds later, heading to the bathroom. He definitely needed a cold shower… how to explain it to her why he had snapped at her that way?

"Great, Nick… you did it nice this time!" – He muttered, letting the iced drops of water fall to his forehead and face. – "She probably is wondering what the hell is she doing living under the same roof as an idiot like you who snaps at her for apparently no reason. Dammit!"

He walked out of the bathroom, with a towel wrapped around his waist to see Morgan standing there with her arms crossed over her chest – "Can you explain me what was that?" – She asked, surprisingly without any fury or demanding tone in her voice – "Is everything okay, Nick?"

"Fine… Everything's fine." – He answered, bypassing her and walking back to his room – "I'm going to sleep a couple of hours before going to work. You should rest too." – He said, with his back to her.

"Okay then. You don't want to talk… fine!" – She muttered, losing her patience, before slamming the door of her room.


	14. Chapter 14: Memories

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episode 'Grave Danger' isn't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter 14**

Four days passed without Nick and Morgan talking to each other. She had avoided him as much as she could but that night she was in the living room, reading a book when he came home from work. She heard him turning the key and getting into the house and thought that she could stay in the living room, calmly, and still ignore him. When he saw the weak light, he thought that it was the exact time for them to talk. He sensed that he had to apologize for his behaviour but he still didn't know how he would do it.

"Hey." – He said, in a casual tone, standing in the doorway.

She looked up from the book she was reading and answered – "So, you're talking to me again, now? Decide yourself."

He sighed and approached her – "May I sit here?"

"Sure. It's your house, remember?" – She said, drifting back to her book and pushing her legs, giving him room in the couch.

"Come on, Morgan... You don't need to be so ironic!"

"Oh, really?" – She asked – "Well, you didn't need to be so rude a few days ago either…"

"Look… I wanted to talk to you about that."

"Hum, hum…"

"Dammit, could you at least look at me while I'm trying to talk to you?" – He asked.

She thought for a while and realized that maybe she was overreacting a little bit. She put down the book in the table in front of them, pushed her legs to the other side of the couch and turned to him – "Sorry. I'm listening…"

"I want to apologize for snapping at you. It wasn't the most correct attitude and you had done nothing to deserve it." – He said, nervously. – "You should have slapped me in the face."

"I should. I almost did. Well, I really wanted to."

He smiled briefly – "I wasn't having the best of days and I guess I downloaded it on you. I'm sorry."

"No problem… I was just confused. I didn't understand why you were acting like that…"

"Me neither, I must confess." – He said embarrassed.

"Hey…" – She said, reaching for his hand – "It's forgotten. Never mind that. I'm sorry for the way I spoke at you earlier today. However, Nick, I have to ask… Did something happen?"

He stood silent for a while, her hand still on his. He leaned his face down, his eyes focused on the glass table. "Nick… you can talk to me. What happened?" – She said, crawling closer to him.

"I've been thinking a lot these couple of days…I had a conversation with Warrick, the day you came out of the hospital that was kind of hard to digest." – He explained – _"Dammit, Nick… you should tell her the whole truth…"_

Morgan bit her lip – "And that conversation was about…"

He sighed – "Lots of stuff." – He said, wanting to leave the subject there. Then, he realized that it was better if he talked and let it all out – "I've been thinking a lot about Kristy, lately."

Morgan looked at him – "Kristy?"

"You don't know who Kristy was?" – He asked, surprised. He thought he or Warrick had already mentioned her in Morgan's presence. As she shook her head, Nick told her about what had happened about five years before, the last time he had felt some chemistry, some connection with someone. When he finished telling her the story, the expression on her face was shock.

"And… where is that Jack, now?"

"In prison. He got thirty years for first degree murder." – Nick informed, sadly – "I should have killed him back then."

"No! Don't say that. If you had killed him, not only would you be spending the rest of your life in a prison, as he would be relived. Spending years and years in prison is hundred times worse than death…"

"Kristy didn't deserve do die… She could have made many mistakes in her life, but she was taking her chance to straighten it up again." – He hissed – "That bastard…"

She stroked his hand, gently – "I know it's hard but try not to think about that. There was nothing you could do. It hurts because she was your friend and you think you could have done something to help her, but you weren't there."

"I had been there before; I had broken her away from him, earlier that night. He must have gotten angry when he saw me with her… and when I left her house; he got in and strangled her."

"You were there?"

"I had already left, but yes, I had been there for some hours, if it's that what you're asking." – He answered, driving his eyes away from hers.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to…" – She apologized – _"Stupid you, Lynn!"_

"I know you didn't. It's okay." - He said, softly and they fell back in silence for another couple of minutes before Nick spoke again.

"I've always regretted leaving her house, that night… I've always kept that feeling that there was something more I could have done." – He confessed. She turned her head in his direction, not knowing what to say – "We had this connection, like it was some kind of chemistry. I can't forget her, no matter how hard I try. Everyday I get up and think that she should be getting up too, getting ready for school or for work. When the cop told me, she was dead and when I saw her corpse, I… I…"- He trailed off.

She approached him and hugged him, briefly – "Hey… You didn't know that he was going after her. It wasn't your fault, Nick."

"My instinct should have warned me about him." – He insisted, when she pulled back.

"Sometimes your instinct fails… happens to us all." – She said, with a sigh, her eyes focusing on the furthest wall. Nick noticed a change on her voice as she started speaking again, opening a little window for the first time since she was a teenager.

"I still put my whole life in my instinct despite being screwed much times. I had a feeling that I was going to put this guy being bars and look where he is now: in prison. He killed three women and he was going to kill me too… If it wasn't Warrick, you and Brass…" – She trailed off – "I can't stop thinking what could have happened if you haven't arrived on time… If Warrick hadn't pressed that trigger…"

"But that didn't happen, so just don't think about it… We said we were going to be there and we've proved you that we deserve your trust. We didn't fail you and we don't intend to do it." – He said – "Morgan, you risked too much on this mission…"

"I know. I only realized the danger I was in to when he acted like he was really going to kill me. Dammit, I thought I was really going to die!" – She leaned her face down, laying her forehead in her hands, fighting back some tears. She thought she had used all her tears when she was young but man, was she wrong! She wasn't going to cry in Nick's presence, she struggled inside to keep herself together and she was able to do it.

Nick thought about hug her or something but he had learned enough about her already to know that it wasn't the best thing to do and neither would she allow him to approach her that moment.

"Hey…" – He called – "Hey, Morgan… don't, please. It's not worth it. He's not worth it. You're here now. You're alive. I'm here with you, I can prove it, if you don't believe. You're alive. God wouldn't be so diabolic in letting you die, in front of me."

She took a deep breath– "God gave up on me long ago… and then, I did the same. I know there's someone watching for me, somewhere… But I think that he's been on vacation lately."

"Well, I'm watching for you. I have your back." – Nick said, encouraging her. – "I don't know about that someone, but you have me and I'm pretty sure you have Warrick too. He liked you since the beginning… you make him think about how he was, seven or eight years ago, when he started working on CSI."

She smiled a little – "Really?"

"Positive. That fight you had with Sara… typical of younger Warrick. The need to work on this case until the end… same thing. You are a lot like him; I guess he sees you like a portrait of him when he was younger. Like a sister, you know?"

She was surprised – "I didn't know that."

"It's true." – Nick said, honestly. – "And despite you thinking the opposite, it's great to have you working with us. You have a great potential and let's face it: you know how to fight; you're not scared of anything; you have a style unique that even creeps out our receptionist (We really needed someone to make Alyssa be quiet once in a while…); you love this job almost as much as Grissom does and believe me, I thought that was impossible; I was never with you in a Interrogation Room, but hell, I guess I don't want to either… You're a great advantage to the team!"

She smiled again, feeling a little better. Nick continued to speak – "You don't have to be scared: it's the murders and rapists and thieves of Vegas who have… We have the future of this job right here… let them be aware."

"You didn't need to be so exaggerated just to cheer me up, you know?" – She joked.

Nick shrugged – "I can't be perfect…"

She shook her head, but then, surprisingly, smiled again – "Thanks Nick… For trusting me, for helping me… for saying those things to cheer me up."

"So, you're basically thanking me for being your friend?" – He asked.

She shrugged. "Don't be silly, Morgan." – He said – "I'm the one who's being granted with that… believe me."

"I'm not sure about that…" – She murmured. Nick quitted arguing with her about that… He had some other subject that was his top priority to discuss with her. First, they needed to have a more casual talk. Nick started talking about his childhood back in Texas and about how he had come to Vegas. They stood there almost all night, just talking, as two friends do all the time. Sometimes, they fell into silence for a while.

"I miss my piano…" – She said, all of sudden, out of nowhere.

"Your piano? Did you play?" – He asked, surprised. He had noticed the graciosity that her hands had but he had never quite related it to an instrument.

"I did." – She answered, quickly, not wanting to deepen the subject much longer, regretting already to have mentioned it – "But I haven't played it ever since…" – She trailed off – "Since I went to my second year of college."

"I'd love to hear you play…" – He pointed out.

"Nah... I can't play it anymore, ever since I stopped, almost four years ago." – She confessed, sadly.

"Did you ever try it again?" – Nick asked, looking straight into her amazingly brown eyes. She looked down and blushed. – "I thought so…" – He said.

"I can't play it anymore." – She said, playing with her wrist cover.

"I'll act as you didn't say that because I don't want to argue with you, okay?"

She shrugged – "As you wish."

"But I would really love to hear you play sometime."- Nick smiled. He was getting there. She was slowly drifting out of her shell. _"You're good, Nick Stokes…"_ – He thought to himself, smiling on the inside. He was getting closer and closer of really being her friend and he knew it. She knew it as well. She had never let anyone approached her that close since high school. She could feel that Nick was a person that was really worth to trust so, fighting against her fears on the inside, she decided that she was going to allow him to know her, at least a little more than the others.

About an hour later, in a moment of silence, Nick looked at his watch – "It's almost 5 am. You should get some sleep; it's getting late."

"5 am?" – She questioned, surprised. "Oh, you must be dead tired and I've been here speaking all night. You should have shut me up."

He smiled – "Of course not. I love talking to you." – He said – "And also tomorrow's my night off, so I have the whole day to sleep. And if I miss sleeping one night, I'm not going to die because of it."

She shook her head briefly – "You're incorrigible." – She stated, letting out a yawn.

"Maybe… Now I'll let you get some sleep. I want you to feel rested and refresh for later."

"Later?" – She gave him a quizzical look.

"Yes. Oh… I forgot. I'm taking you out tonight." – He said, with a grin – "And I don't want to hear any excuse."

"I'm not going out like this… Have you looked at my nose?"

"Yes. It's almost healed. And you can use those make-up things you women use all the time. You've been locked in this house for the past four days. I don't care, we're going out tonight. Have dinner and so…"

It was useless to try to persuade him and Morgan knew it. "Okay, okay, you won. I'll go."

He smiled, confident – "But you have to wear something fancy."

"Oh come on…" – She protested.

"Wearing a dress for once in your life won't kill you. Come on… I want to take you out and I want you to be pretty."

"I don't have a dress." – She said.

"You have the whole afternoon, to buy a dress. I'll be ready at 8 pm… okay?"

"Okay. Okay, I'll buy a dress… Stubborn!" – She muttered.

"I heard that…" – He said, with a grin. "Well, I'm going to bed now. You should go too."

"I just want to read some more. I'll go in a while." – She said, as he was getting up.

He was at the doorway when he turned around and called her – "Morgan…"

"Yes?"

"You know you can talk to me about anything, don't you?" – He asked. He didn't quite new the exact words to bring that subject on so he preferred to stay of the safe side and do it gradually.

"Yeah, I think so. Why are you asking?"

"Not important. I just wanted to be sure…" – He explained – "Goodnight."

"Goodnight Nick." – She said with a smile.


	15. Chapter 15: Like a Star

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episode 'Grave Danger' isn't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter 15**

"Damn you, Nick Stokes!" – Morgan snapped, getting in the house and throwing her keys to the nearest table. She had searched dozens of stores without finding a decent dress and now she was late. It was almost 7pm and he was probably finishing getting dressed.

"You talking to me?" – He asked, his face appearing on the doorway of his room.

"Yeah, you can bet I am. You made me lose one whole afternoon looking for a decent dress! Just because you want me to wear one tonight. Do you think it's reasonable?"

"Yeah."

She made him an angry face and added – "And I ended up buying one that it's not even THAT worth it."

"Okay. Now go get ready. We have a table set for 8.30 and they asked me not to be late. Come on, you'll love this night…"

She turned her back to him and walked into her room. About one hour later, Nick was knocking on her door – "Morgan, you ready?"

"I'm not getting out of this house dressed this way. Not in a million years!"

"Oh... Come on, let me see it."

"No."

"Morgan, don't be childish… I'm getting in." – He warned, before opening the door. She was standing in front of the mirror, looking at her dress with a sad expression – "Have you seen this? It looks awful!" – She stated.

It was a spaghetti strapped black tight dress, above the knee, that showed a considerable part of her back. She was also wearing some metal accessories and her hair was pulled up in a loose half ponytail. She had figured a way of disguising her healing nose with some light make up that was barely noticeable and the dress covered the bandage on her right side. The only thing that shined were her Swarovski earrings: they were very simple but really beautiful with little crystals shining on the side. Oh, and her eyeliner was pretty much evident as well.

"No, it doesn't. It's a beautiful dress and it looks fine. Now, come on, hurry up. We have to go or we'll be late." – He said.

"Don't rush me!" – She hissed and went to get her shoes. "And no, I'm not going to wear high heels."

He smiled – "It wouldn't be a good idea either…"

"Where are you taking me?" – She asked, as she sat on the bed as was putting her black shoes with white dots on. She looked at him for the first time and controlled herself not to let out a surprising sound. Damn, he was so good looking, with a pair of jeans and a light-blue buttoned shirt. His new haircut, an almost shaved head, made him cutter. _"Drop it, Lynn…"_ – She ordered to herself. She reached for a red buttoned up cotton jacket and her purse and looked at the mirror once again.

"Not telling." – He answered.

"Pfft… I really hate you right now, Stokes!" – She murmured, bypassing him and walking out the room, to the door of the apartment.

He laughed – "No you don't, Rodriguez." – He said, following her.

"You like Italian food?" – He asked when they were already on the car and he was driving.

"Yeah, I love it. Why? Are we going to an Italian restaurant?"

He nodded and she smiled – "I haven't eaten Italian food since I came to Vegas."

"Great, cause now you're going to try the best Lasagne you've ever eaten. This restaurant has a Dutch cook and she makes the MOST delicious Lasagne…"

"Oh, I love Lasagne…" – She said and he grinned. He had hit the exact point he wanted and this was going to be one of the best evenings of her life. At least, he was going to fight for it.

"Glad you do. I wasn't sure if you liked Italian food."

"It's impossible not to like all those kinds of pasta and all." – She commented.

They arrived the restaurant a little while later and sat on the table that was set for them. Morgan's eyes scanned quickly the menu before saying – "Yeah, I think I'm going to try that famous Lasagne."

Nick smiled and called the waiter. He ordered and then they fell silent for a while.

"So, what made you want so badly to drag me out tonight?" – She asked when the waiter brought their drinks.

"I've told you. You've been locked in that house for the past days and that's not healthy. I thought about taking you out, have some fun. Before you start working again. When are you going back to work?"

"Tomorrow night." – She answered with the grin, at the same time she tried the mix of red wine and fruit that he had ordered – "Hmm, this tastes good."

"I knew you would like it. So... where do you want to go after dinner?"

She smiled and took another sip of her drink. It was really nice. – "I don't know. You've been in Vegas longer than I. I am almost new here and I haven't had time to go out that much. You have to guide me."

"Sure. I know some nice bars where he can sit and relax, talking… Not much that noisy thing that all Vegas like to go."

"Fine with me." – She said. Inadvertidly, Nick looked at her right wrist that was on the table. She was wearing a black and white stripped wrist cover, as always, but there was a void between her hand and the wrist cover. He hadn't given her her bracelet yet and she hadn't remembered to ask for it either. He reached his pocket and gave it to her.

"Here. I forgot to give you this back." – He said, handling it to her.

"Oh... I thought you hadn't seen it and that it was lost. Thanks." – She said and reached for his hand. Before she could grab it, Nick moved his hand back and said – "But before I give this to you, I have to ask you something."

"Sure. Shoot!" – She said, nervous. Something inside her was telling her this wasn't going to be an enjoyable talk.

"Why do you use this and those wrist covers?" – He asked, after taking a deep breath.

"I like it. I think it's fashion… I don't know. Are you feeling okay?" – She asked.

"Yeah, yeah... Why?" – He asked back, giving her the bracelet.

"You're acting funny. Something happened?" – She inquired, putting the bracelet on. Just then, Nick spotlighted some marks on the place that she was covering with the bracelet. He stared at her wrist, his throat went dry and words left him. It was true. All the doctor had said: it was pure truth.

"Nick…" – She called him. She moved her hand to touch his that was on the table – "Nick, are you feeling okay?"

He came out of his haze, when he felt her touch – "Uh? Oh, yeah, yeah. Sorry."

"You sure you're fine? You don't seem good… want to go home?"

"No, no. I was just distracted. Don't mind me; I'm fine."

"Okay. I don't want you to feel obligated to stay, if you want to go."

"I know and I don't. I want to stay." – He said, with a smile. – "I'm fine, really. I was just thinking about something… nevermind."

During the rest of their meal, they spoke about what had made them chose to be a crime scene investigator and why had they moved to Vegas. About an hour later, when they had already finished the desert, Nick asked for the bill. Morgan was about to reach for her wallet but he touched her hand that was resting on the table – "Don't."

"What?"

"Stay there. I'm going to pay and I'll be right back. You can wait here or go to the car, you can choose that."

She nodded and grabbed her jacket that was hanging on the back of the chair. She walked out of the restaurant and picked the occasion to light a cigarette. She knew that Nick didn't approve her smoking so she had left it for after dinner. She felt cold, dressed her jacket, and tightened it around her. The whole street was empty and she suddenly spotted a man coming her way. She couldn't avoid feeling a discomfort and was silently vowing for him to keep walking. Unfortunately, he saw that there was a lonely girl; with a short and tight dress and decided to stop near her.

"Hey…" – He greeted – "Are you feeling lonely, sweetie?"

"Leave me alone." – She hissed, and started to walk back to the restaurant.

He grabbed her arm – "Don't walk away so fast, cuteness!" – He said.

"I believe I told you to leave me alone!" – She snapped. As he didn't seem to have the intention of releasing her arm, she smacked him hard in the face. Just then, Nick appeared, coming out of the restaurant.

"What the hell…" – He trailed off when he saw her punching the guy. "Wow… nice punch. Are you okay, Morgan?"

She was staring at the man, fury all over her face – "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Well, I'm not." - The man screamed, getting up from the floor.

"That will teach you something… now back off!" – Nick snapped and they walked away from there to the place where he had parked his car a couple of hours before. "What happened?" – Nick asked when they got in the car and he turned on the ignition.

"He was fooling around and decided to grab me." – She explained – "And then I decided to give him something to remember me…"

"That something being… a punch?" – He asked, an evil grin on his face.

"Yeah." – She smiled – "And I would have sent him to the hospital if he had insisted."

"I'm absolutely sure you would have." – He added, driving them along Vegas. – "You're a hell of a fighter, I see…"

"During high school, I had fights almost twice a week so… I had a lot of chances to practice my fighting skills."

"Oh… Why?" – He asked without thinking. Only seconds later, he realized maybe that it was too much – "Sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"No problem, Nick." – She said, softly. – "I guess I may say that people in Cameron aren't much open-minded."

He stood silent during the rest of the trip to the bar he had picked. She was thinking that maybe she had said something that she shouldn't. "Here we are." – Nick announced, stopping the car.

She looked to the place: it had a nice outside decoration and was really appellative. On the inside, it was pretty too, several tables with little candles, a small dance floor and a stage. Someone was probably going to sing that night: there was a board announcing some unknown band, set for later that evening. Nick pointed to a table on the quiet side of the bar and they headed there.

"You want something to drink?" – He asked.

"No, thanks." – She declined. The music on the background was nice and it wasn't low enough to be boring nor louder enough to make a conversation impossible. There were some couples on the dance floor as a sweet melody was echoing in the room.

"Nice place." – She commented, looking around. He smiled – "The music is very diverse… Still not that heavy kind of music you like to hear but it's not bad."

"Yeah, it's not that bad…I won't die if I hear it just for one night." – She said, smiling to him. Despite that little incident, Morgan was really enjoying that evening. She was feeling some kind of freedom she hadn't felt in a while and, surprisingly, she was starting to relax a little. Moments later, she started hearing he first chords of a Ricky Martin's song 'Maria'.

"I haven't heard since…" – She commented – "When this first appeared, I used to spend my life singing it. I was starting to like punk and heavy stuff that time but there is some things that you never leave behind… it's in your genes."

Nick smiled – "You want to dance?"

She blushed – "Oh no… I haven't danced in ages!"

"Come on… I don't know how to dance and I'm still inviting you." – He reached for her hand and made her stand up – "It's going to be fun."

She protested a little but followed him. They reached the dance floor and she released her moves after a while. When it came to the chorus, even Morgan was surprised with herself; feeling so relaxed in front of so many people. Nick made her spin around twice in a very accelerated pace, as the song demanded.

"Nice moves you have there, Rodriguez…" – He whispered to her ear when he pulled her back to him. He put his hand on her lower back and puller her closer, grounding both their hips together. This dance rhythm (salsa) was a bit difficult to him but she seemed so comfortable… The most important moves are the ones you make with your hips, when you're dancing salsa or any kind of 'Latino' songs and she was doing it so well, as if it was easy and simple, despite being injured.

"A woman with Hispanic ancestors… of course she knows all the dance moves. It would be just one more shame for my family to bear if I didn't know this." – She answered.

"Hispanic ancestors?" – He questioned, surprised, spinning her around again.

"Yeah." – She answered and then clarified – "My family comes from Spain and Portugal. My grandfather was Spanish and my grandmother was Portuguese. My mother, their daughter, was born in Spain but they came to the US when she was about ten or so. My dad is American."

"Oh. I didn't know that."

"That's how I got the 'Rodriguez'. I can speak both Spanish and Portuguese fluently and so does my mother." - She added. He grinned – "Well, I can say that your moves don't lie…"

"It's in my blood, I can't help it." – She said, blushing again. They kept dancing until moments later, when Nick spun her around again and she winced when he pulled her to him once more.

He immediately stopped and looked at her, concerned – "You okay?" – He asked. Her right hand was on the wound, making a little pressure, as she leaned slightly forward. "Dammit!" – She hissed.

"I should have remembered of your wound, I'm sorry. I-I was distracted and it was my fault, I shouldn't have…" – Nick started to say, embarrassed and worried. She interrupted him and looked up– "Don't worry, I'm just a little rusty and I was moving my hips too fast and I forgot this. It's okay."

"You sit down for a while." – He advised, and wrapped his arm around her waist, as they walked back to their table.

"I know many girls who would love to dance like you, even when you're hurt, without even losing time thinking how to do it…" – He commented, as they sat down.

She blushed once more and shot back - "You aren't such a bad dancer yourself, Stokes…"

He laughed – "I do my best."

**(A couple of hours later)**

Nick was staring to the outside, through the window of his room. They had come home a little while before but he just couldn't sleep. _"What's happening with you, Nick?"_ – He kept asking himself. He had always been a secure guy, direct and all. Now, when he was near her, he felt like he had been under a metamorphosis. When they had returned to the dance floor, that night, while Corinne Bailey Rae's 'Trouble Sleeping' was playing, he had felt paralysed. Like a ray of electricity had hit him, the entire word had stopped when he had pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her and she had surrounded his neck with hers. They had moved slowly this time ("No more frantic dances for now." He had commented), following Corinne's amazing voice and Morgan had leaned her head on his shoulder, quietly singing along. It had felt so right…

"Naa…. Warrick can't be right! Get that idea of your mind, Nick." – He tried to convince himself, putting some water in his face, in the bathroom.

In the room next door, Morgan was sleeping peacefully. She was dreaming, dancing with Nick, on an empty dance floor, just the two of them, a calm melody on the background. Their eyes were lost in each other's. They started to slowly lean forward, getting closer and closer. Their lips were about to meet when she woke up, breathless.

"_What the hell are you thinking about__, Lynn? You know it can't happen…."_ – She thought to herself, getting up and pacing back and forth in the room – "It can't happen..." – She repeated, as she sat on the edge of her bed and passed her hand through her long hair.


	16. Chapter 16: Trouble Sleeping

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episode 'Grave Danger' isn't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

_**SweetSaS - **Yeah, Nick is a hottie. Glad you liked my dear. Love ya too. Here's some more._

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter 16**

"Well, seems someone didn't get much sleep last night… right Rodriguez?" – A voice asked, as Morgan entered the locker room, the night after, yawning.

She smiled – "I had some trouble sleeping…" – She clarified. Then, she realized what she had said and let out a little laugh.

"What?" – Sofia asked.

"Nothing, nothing… never mind." – She answered. Sofia looked at her for a minute. She was wearing her usual style of heavy clothes, where the black was dominant, but there was something lighter in her. They had thought that after this 'episode' of her still young career, Morgan would be a little affected and it might cause her to be even more distant than usual, but, unexpectedly, she seemed almost _happy_. Sofia closed her locker and stopped in front of Morgan's – "Fine, as you wish… I bet that that has to do with Nick… He had been impossible this last couple of days, I've noticed since I returned from LA, but he came to work really cheerful today. Singing and all…"

Morgan blushed a little, while dressing her vest but she quickly tried to disguise it – "Oh really?"

"Yeah." – Sofia answered – "He keeps singing some song he said he heard on the radio or somewhere, last night… I don't know what happened to him, but he's becoming annoying." – She said, leaving the locker room. Morgan laughed and followed her.

"Look, Morgan, I wanted apologize, for not being there… Ecklie had sent me to LA to this conference that was a total pain in the … and I wasn't able to come back sooner. Catherine called me when you were taken to the hospital, but I couldn't leave just then."

"Hey, Sofia… it's fine. I understand. Ecklie can be really boring sometimes but it's okay. It wasn't your fault and I wasn't that much injured either. Don't worry about it."

"But I do cause you are my friend and the only one who supports me the most here."

"I know and this doesn't change a thing. I'm known as the Punk Bitch of the Lab and you're the Bimbo Bitch, as I've heard the day-shift blondes calling us the other day. Luckily for us, we're great friends so we can beat those skinnies anytime. And that will remain…" – Morgan said, with a smile. Sofia looked at her and laughed. It was the first time that Morgan had talked to her so directly about their friendship and she felt really grateful for having such a fighter next to her, in her daily battle against the rest of the Lab, who thought that she had only reached swing shift Supervisor for supposedly having slept with Ecklie.

"Are you really not going to tell me?"

Morgan rolled her eyes – "What do you want me to tell you, Sofia? I'm just in a good mood, I returned to work. I hated being locked at home these days just because Nick and Warrick acted as my big brothers and didn't allow me to come to the Lab."

"Is that it?"

"Yeah, that's it. Now, let's get to work, shall we? I bet that you guys missed me here, when I was in the field."

Sofia smiled – "Always, rookie… And I still don't believe that that is it, but yeah. I know you'll tell me later."

Morgan smiled and shrugged. They entered the break room – "Hey guys!"

"Hey." – Everybody said back. Then, Greg commented – "You should've dressed fancier tonight…"

"What? Why?" – She asked, confused. Greg grinned at her – "You're working with Grissom." – She could see the teasing smile on his lips. When it had been his turn, they had teased him quite annoyingly. Now, it was his payback time.

"Come on, Sanders, don't play with me. I didn't even bother you when you had to work with him."

"I'm not playing. It's true. Grissom just briefed the cases and you're with him tonight."

"Oh… come on…" – She sighed, falling on the couch of the break room and reaching for a cigarette. "I could have been warned that I was going to be evaluated today." – She complained.

"Any problem?" – Grissom asked, entering the room. She quickly got up and shook her head – "No, no... I was just…"

"Complaining about being evaluated without notice?" – He asked, with a smile.

She shrugged – "I'm not prepared, Grissom."

"I'll always call you out when you're unprepared, you better remember it."

She suddenly understood – "Because I have to be always prepared, right?"

He nodded. "You are working with me tonight but you won't leave the Lab. You won't go to the field, at least, for a couple of days."

"What?" – She was on her way to the ashtray, to drop the ash from her cigarette, but she turned around abruptly – "What?"

"You'll be doing Lab work for some days. I'll explain it to you. Let's go to my office?" – He gently asked. Morgan nodded and smashed the cigarette before following him. The rest of the team that was still on the break room looked at each other.

"Why is he doing this?" – Greg asked.

"He wants to get her ready to go to court, to testify against McCarter, and she needs to be relaxed and rested. As it will be her first time in court…" – Catherine clarified.

"… He will be helping her these upcoming days, that's why she's staying out of the field for a while." – Sara completed. They all looked at her – "He told me what he was going to do."

"Well, I don't want to be here when she finds that out…" – Nick commented, getting up and grabbing the file of the case he was going to work in – "Come on, Sara. We have a DB waiting for us."

"Whoa, Stokes! You leaving us to work with your angry housemate? It's not fair." – Greg complained. Nick glanced at him for a second – "I know all too well how she is going to react that's why I'm going to get out of there as soon as possible. Tell Grissom it was nice meeting him and that he was a good friend and supervisor."

Catherine laughed – "She won't destroy the Lab, you know?"

"I do." – Nick replied, with a smile.

From the corner of the room, Sofia commented in a low voice – "You're a in a pretty good mood today, Nick and she was also much lighted… what happened between you two last night?"

Everybody looked immediately at Nick, who blushed – "Nothing. It was a normal night. I just took her out to dinner."

"Oh, you did?" – Warrick asked, really interested.

"Yeah. She had been locked at home since she had come out of the hospital and I took her to that Italian restaurant we went several times already, after the shift. That's it."

Sofia and Warrick shared a glance, an evil smile on their lips. Then, he picked up the file of his case – "Let's go, Sofia, because we have work to do and Nick is a liar." She laughed and followed him to the outside. Nick protested but followed Sara too and each one went to work on his own cases.

Meanwhile, Grissom was sitting at his desk, looking at Morgan, but he hadn't said a word since they had gotten there.

"Hmm… Grissom?" – Morgan called. He nodded at her – "Oh, right, sorry. I was temporarily lost in my thoughts."

"It's okay. You said you were going to explain me why you're making me stay out of the field…"

"Yeah. How's your wound?" – He asked.

"It's fine. Why did you take me off the field?" – She insisted. Grissom took a little breath before answering – "Morgan, I agreed for you to go on this 'mission' but I shouldn't have. You were injured. It was dangerous…"

"And I knew it, since the beginning." – She cut him off.

"May I finish?"

"Of course, I'm sorry." – She apologized, blushing.

"As you said, you knew since the beginning that this was dangerous and you decided still to go for it. But you're young, you don't have the sense of responsibility and you don't think about the consequences as much as I do, or Catherine or Brass. I read his report about what happened inside that market. Morgan, your wound is the result of a lucky strike. You should never have kicked him. You were lucky that Warrick was there, in the back, or I assure you that that wound would be located much higher, on your chest. And I found it really hard to you be here, talking to me, if that had happened."

Morgan bit her lip – "So, you're taking me off the field because I wasn't precautious that day?" – She stood up - "You can barely imagine what happened there, Grissom. You, and everybody else, you guys can barely imagine what it was, for me, to be there, trapped in that office, with a blade cutting my neck and this maniac shouting at me. I know I was the one who insisted on this, and I don't regret it… I just can't stand that you criticize my attitude in that stressful moment because not only you can't feel the same thing I felt as I'm sure you and everybody else would act that exact same way." – She exploded – "When it comes to the instinct of survival, Grissom, nobody can control how they act, and nobody can premeditate his actions!"

He nodded – "Well, you have a point there. However, I took you off the field and got you working with me because, as you know, McCarter was in the hospital too and he was released yesterday. He won't have a preliminary audience, as his trial is already set. I'm going to process and get all evidences set in time."

"And what's my role in here?" – She questioned.

"You're the only approbatory witness. The only 'victim' that survived. This case…"

"…No…"

"… to get the guy behind bars for life…"

"No."

"… needs your statement." – Grissom finished, finally. She had started pacing back and forward in the room, knowing exactly how his sentence would end. "You'll have to go to court, Morgan."

"No." – She said and stopped. Then, she turned to him – "No way in hell that I'm going to court."

"Morgan, I know it's hard. But all your effort, the high risk you took by going on this and getting this guy… it will all be worthless and useless without your testimony on court." – He explained. He knew that this was too much and maybe even Morgan couldn't bear that much pressure, but he needed to try.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She thought for a while until the moment she opened her eyes again – "When?"

"One week from now." – Grissom answered. Morgan's eyes widened – "WHAT?"

"Calm down. We have time. I'll take care of it. You just have to get ready, emotionally speaking, to sit there and answer the questions."

"_Just_…As if it's easy." – She commented. Grissom looked at her and took off his glasses. He rubbed his eyes. This was going to be hard.

**(Later)**

Morgan was sitting on what used to be Greg's Lab (Sort of), playing with a pen, throwing it up and catching it when it fell. "This gotta be the most annoying thing I've ever done…" – She muttered. She had already processed all the evidences that had been brought to her (this night was going on pretty calmly) and she hadn't had anything to do in the past twenty minutes, other than throwing the pen up and catching it when it fell.

"Hey." – Sofia greeted, appearing in the doorway of the room she was working, her hands full of evidence bags. "I'm sorry to ruin your evident fun…" – She joked.

"Be my guest… We're having a calm night and I've been staring at this pen for the past twenty minutes… What do you have for me?"

"Swabs… Ten swabs that I collected from our crime scene."

"DNA, right?"

"Yep." – Sofia answered. She put them all down on the table and handed Morgan the first one. She took it and started working.

"So…" – Sofia started. "Did Grissom explain to you why he took you off the field?"

"Yeah." – She answered. "He wants me to go to court."

"And?"

"I don't have a choice. I didn't have all these troubles to let McCarter walk out, unpunished." – She said, looking through the microscope – "Aha, this is good enough for DNA." – She commented, reaching for a dropping bottle. "I have to go to that damn court… but I'm not sure if I'll hang on."

"Grissom will help you…You have time to get yourself prepared."

"I have one week." – Morgan said, abruptly, preparing a solution.

"It's not a good case for you to be the first time on court, but well, you'll start… One week??!"

"Yeah. One week to get myself prepared to see that bastard again." – She muttered, as she put the little bottle on the machine. Two minutes later, the result of the DNA extracted from the first swab was coming out of the printer – "One down, nine to go…"

Sofia bit her lip and thought about how she could quickly change the subject. "Oh, so you got all embarrassed when I asked you why you were in such a good mood because you went on a date with Nicky last night, uh?"

Morgan looked up from the microscope and stared at Sofia's evil grin. She shook her head and with a small smile drawing on her lips, she looked back to the microscope – "It wasn't a date."

"Yeah, right, Rodriguez… And I was born yesterday."

"We just had dinner and then went to a nice bar, danced a little."

"You are dating Stokes and you weren't going to tell me a thing?" – Sofia asked, sitting in front of her. Morgan looked at her – "It was just a dinner, I'm not dating him…"

"Morgan, think with me: you blushed when I told you that something must had happened to Nick for him to be so cheerful today. He blushed when I mentioned you were in a light mood today too. I don't know which game you two are playing here, but I know it can get dangerous… If anyone knows what's happening between you guys and if this reaches Ecklie…"

"I know, Sofia, that's why I'm telling you that I'm not dating him. We just went out for dinner, really. He said that I needed to catch some air, go out for some hours and as I don't know Vegas that well yet, he drove me. Nothing more. We danced and talked but returned home early. Nothing happened."

"I believe you… It's just that I'm worried about him… about you. About this mess. I've been told what happened between you and Sara a few months ago and now if you get into a mess with Nick or anyone else… you'll be sent away, Rodriguez, and I don't want that…"

"Hey… Don't worry. I know what I am doing and I assure you… Nick's just a friend. He may be a close friend, since we do have been living together for quite a while now, but nothing more… I have some issues to work on before even considering about having a relationship."

"I think he doesn't see things that way, Morgan…" – Sofia confessed.

She sighed and got up, to get the results from the printer and then handed them to Sofia – "He has to..."


	17. Chapter 17: Dearly Beloved

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episode 'Grave Danger' isn't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

_**jenn -** Thanks a lot, I'm glad you like my story._

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter 17**

"CSI Rodriguez!" – The officer called, opening the door of the courtroom. She was sitting in front of it, next to Sofia, and stood up.

"I'm here."

"You're being called out to testify."

"Oh… Thanks." – She nodded. She turned to Sofia, who was standing on her left and sighed.

"This is it, kid…" – Sofia said. She had been there the whole morning with her friend. Morgan had called her the day before, asking her to be there and so the former day-shift supervisor had talked to Grissom, asked him permission to be there too.

"I don't know if I can do this… I don't know if I'm ready to see him again. I'll be there, telling everybody what that man told me in that market… It was already embarrassing enough to me that Brass and Nick heard it… And now, the jury will have to hear it too? I don't think I can do it, Sofia…"

"Hey, listen…" – She said, arranging Morgan's outfit before she got inside. She was wearing a two-piece set, black skirt and jacket, that Sofia had lend her and a pair of black high heel shoes. Morgan didn't have these kind of formal clothes, so she had offered herself to lend them for this occasion, as they wore almost the same size. "We put ourselves in danger every single day and sometimes we pay a hell of a price for surviving it… Think about it, if the price you must pay for putting this guy behind bars for life or even sent him to Hell itself is having to testify against him, even though that may embarrass you… isn't that rewarding, Rodriguez?"

Morgan swallowed the lump on her throat and nodded. "You risked your life to get him… don't throw that away now." – Sofia said. She hugged her – "I have to go now…"

Morgan nodded again and the officer came to the doorway, to tell her to hurry up. She took a deep breath and turned around. As Sofia was leaving the hall, she could hear her words echoing in her head…She was right. This had to be done and she was the only person who could finish this case.

"_Here we go…"_

**(About thirty minutes later)**

Nick was sitting next to the door of the courtroom, waiting for her to come out. He had passed by Sofia when she was leaving, who had told him that Morgan had just gotten inside. Thirty minutes had passed since then and he was beginning to get really anxious. _"Why the hell is it taking her so long?"_ – He wondered. He sat back on the chair and tilted his head back, closing his eyes, as if it could make the time pass faster.

Some time later, he heard the door open and looked over. There she was, standing in front of the door that she had just closed behind her. Nick quickly got up and approached her.

"Morgan…?" – He called. She looked at him, surprise all over her face.

"Oh, Nick… Didn't know you were here..."

"Hey, you're okay?" – He asked, concerned. She was so pale and, as she was dressed in black, she looked almost like a corpse. He reached for her hand and noticed that her breathing was all fastened up and that she was shaking badly. "Let's go sit over there…" – He said, softly. She let herself be led by him and sat down on the chair where he had been waiting. Nick stooped down in front of her. He took her hands in his and stroked them, trying to get her to stop shaking. He noticed that she was so cold, as she had been locked in a refrigerator for the past half an hour. Little by little, she regained her colour and her skin became warmer at his touch.

"As stupid and evident as it might seem, I have to ask… How did it go?"

"The DA asked for life sentence without parole. The jury is pondering right now... I just had to come out, to catch some fresh air." – She answered, looking down at her hands. He was still holding them, trying to calm her down.

"We knew that this was going to be hard, but think about it… it's over now, Morgan. It's done." – He said, with a small smile, looking straight into her eyes. She looked back at him and nodded weakly, a small drawing of a smile appearing in her lips. _"How does he do this?"_ – She thought to herself. Just a sentence, a simple sentence and he had been able to light up a little her day… It was almost like Micha--. _"No, Lynn… Stop! You can't go there, forget it!"_ – She ordered to herself. She looked at him again and repeated – "It's done."

Nick smiled at her, pulling a strand of hair behind her ear and gently brushing the back of his hand on her cheek. After a few minutes, they got up. "Do you want to stay and hear the sentence?"

"No. Let's go back to the Lab. Work is waiting…" – She answered.

**(In the Crime Lab)**

"I'm just going to change clothes; I'll meet you in the break room." – Morgan told him, when they arrived the Lab.

"Sure." – He said back, walking to the break room, whilst she turned to her left. She reached the locker room and carefully stripped off those awful formal clothes. She had never liked much wearing formal clothes and those black two-piece sets had always made her think about funerals and…

She closed abruptly the door of her locker, trying to wave away those memories that were trying their way to conquer her mind that moment. She dressed a pair of jeans and a simple green t-shirt and put on her vest. She was pulling her hair up in a high ponytail when her cell phone started ringing.

"Rodriguez." – She answered.

"Hi, dear." – A male voice sounded on the other side of the line.

"Hi dad!" – She greeted back, feeling a little happier by hearing a beloved voice.

"So, how's everything going there?" – He asked – "You haven't called in quite a while and I didn't want to disturb you either, but I was getting a little worried…"

"Oh, I'm sorry dad; I've been having so many cases lately and I went to court today…I've barely slept these last couple of days. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, honey, I was just getting a little worried."

Morgan sighed - "Everything's fine, you don't have to worry…" – She answered. _"You're such a damn liar, Lynn…"_ – She thought to herself.

"Are you coming here to visit anytime soon?" – Her father asked, taking a chance, knowing exactly what the answer would be.

"Dad, you know I can't go back there… not yet. I need more time to fix things…" – She trailed off, sitting on the bench. "I… I-I just can't… I'm sorry."

"I understand, I was just hoping to see you anytime soon… I haven't seen you in about a year, Lynn… and I care… you're there alone in that big town…"

"I'm not exactly alone... I've told you that I'm sharing an apartment with Nick and he works here in the Lab with me. Him and this other girl that also works here are great friends of mine, you don't have to worry about me, I'm fine… Really, dad." – She said.

"You know that if something happens you call me immediately, right?" – He insisted. "I may be shortage of money but I have some hidden, just in case…"

She couldn't avoid smiling – "I know, Mr. Lomax… Now I have to go to work, or they'll fire me. The Assistant-Director doesn't like me that much…"

"Have you been punching more people, Lynn?" – He asked with a very serious tone on his voice. She laughed.

"No, dad, I've not. I only got into a fight once since I arrived here and that was solved back then. Don't worry, I've been controlling myself." – She answered, smiling as her father let out a little giggle on the other side of the line. "What?! I'm telling, you, I've been controlling myself."

He laughed – "I bet you've already broken a few glasses at home…"

She rolled her eyes and didn't answer for a while.

"So..." – He insisted.

"Okay, okay, I broke three the other day but I replaced them and Nick didn't even notice… I've been controlling myself!"

"I'll pretend I believe it." – He said and she smiled. "Now, I won't steal you any more time… I'm sure you have a lot to do."

"Thanks for calling. And I'm sorry for getting you worried."

"I'm your father, Lynn; it's my job to get worried. Goodbye honey… Take care of yourself."

"Goodbye dad. I will. You take care of yourself too."

"I love you. Bye." – And with this, he hung up, not waiting for her response. David Lomax knew his daughter all too well to know that she wasn't fond of externally express her feelings. She had always been much reserved about herself with everyone that surrounded her, always closed in her own shell. He was happy, really happy, that she had managed to friendship this Nick boy and the other girl, as she had said to him. Working intimately with the LVPD and being older than her, despite not knowing them yet, being friends with his daughter gave him some sort of relief… His baby girl wasn't alone in Vegas and she had someone to look out for her. It wasn't the same thing as if it was _him _who was there, of course. But David knew he couldn't be there and that she couldn't be in Cameron any longer, so if she had anyone with her, anyone who kept her safe, that was enough for him.

Morgan put her cell phone back on her vest's pocket and remained sit on the bench for a little longer, caught in her own deep thoughts until moments later, when Greg passed in front of the locker room and saw her.

"Hey."

She looked up. "Oh, hey Sanders."

"Congratulations" – He greeted. She gave him a quizzical look. "Yeah, Grissom just arrived from the court. The jury considered McCarter guilty of all charges. Didn't you know?"

She showed him a brief smile and got up. "It's good to know… Thanks for telling me, Sanders." – She said, passing by him in the doorstep and patting him in the shoulder.

"You're welcome."

**(A month and a half later)**

"So that's it?" – Morgan asked.

Sofia nodded. "I have to leave this Lab. I had just gotten my badge when the Sheriff assigned me here. It wasn't that bad, I reached day-shift supervisor, but my demotion was underserved and being here everyday it's not doing any good to me. It's great to be working with you, we became great friends and we will remain, in what depends on me, but I have to move on."

Morgan bit her lip and shook her head – "Of course that we will remain… it's just…"

"Boulder City is not that far away, Rodriguez." – Sofia said, closing her locker. Morgan smiled - "You're leaving me on my own now…"

"You'll be achieving CSI Level 2 soon… You have to start getting used to it."

"If I don't get fired first…" – She murmured.

"What do you mean by that? Don't you think that you get start messing around now that I won't be here to keep an eye on you, because Warrick is going to do that for me."

Morgan laughed and they walked to the outside of the building. Until they reached, Sofia's car, nothing was spoken, as the youngest CSI seemed to be lost on her own thoughts, drifted away from that place. "Are you all right, Morgan?"

"Yeah, I'm fine... I just have to go interrogate a suspect in a few minutes, I'm waiting for Vartann to bring him in, and I'm a little worried about that. It's the second interrogation in the same day… I'm afraid I screwed it up the first time."

"You're lying to me again, but I will pretend that I believe in that crap you made up because I'm late. I still have some miles to drive and if I want to get there on time, I have to hurry up." – Sofia said. Morgan nodded and they said goodbye. As she was leaving the parking lot, Sofia opened the window and, as Morgan's was walking at the side of the car, heading back to the Lab, she spoke again – "Don't make up any more crap… I'm counting on you to do like we've set: you need me, you call me. Not matter when, what time... Got it?"

Morgan set her sunglasses back on and briefly smiled – "Hit the road, Curtis… and don't worry. A deal is a deal. I need you, I call. You need me, you call. Anywhere, anytime…"

Sofia smiled and drove off. Morgan stopped walking for a minute and watched silently as her friend's car left the parking lot and disappeared in the road. Then, she looked at the inscription tattooed on the inside of her left forearm.

"_If you have to let it go  
and these dreams keep you awake_

_If you have to let it go_

_Walk away…"_

She had done it, almost a year before. Now, it was Sofia's time to do it.

**(Two Months Later)**

"You look like you need a cup of coffee…"

Morgan looked up from the file that she had been staring at for the past ten minutes, to see Greg waving a coffee-pot in front of her eyes. She shook her head in denial – "My system is all messed up… If I drink another sip of coffee, I'll won't be able to sleep until Christmas."

He smiled and sat on the couch of the break room, enjoying the little time he had taken to be away from his, Sara's and Grissom's case. "Is it that bad?"

"That bad??! No… Since Nick went to NY, I've done three doubles in this same week. I'm in the middle of my third consecutive shift and I've slept the past days on that very couch you're sitting in… I haven't gone home in three days! Come on, I may have reached CSI Level 2 a couple of weeks ago but this is too much!"

"Looks like someone doesn't like their job…" – Warrick commented as he entered the break room, just in time to hear Morgan's complaints.

"Not now, Warrick… I'm talking serious here, I need to sleep. That's the third full coffee-pot of the day. The other two were drunk by me in the last… hmm, let's see…" – She looked at her watch – "Five hours."

Warrick and Greg shared a glance. "I'm not complaining about my work, don't get me wrong…But this is too much. Someone from the day shift or swing shift calls in sick… Who's going to cover for them? Me. Nick is sent to that thing in NY and has been missing work for a week… Who's going to cover him? Morgan, who else?"

"Well, Nick's back. He's coming to work tonight, his plane lands in about an hour." – Warrick informed.

"Finally!" – She exclaimed, making Greg let out a giggle with the relief tone she used.

"I was about to leave, my shift is done. Do you want me to stick around and help you?" – Warrick offered. Morgan shook her head – "Thanks man, but you don't need to. I'm working with Catherine and she's testing me so you can't help me. But thanks anyways."

"Okay then." – Warrick said, throwing the cup to the trash-can. "That means I'm heading home. Nice…" – He smiled to her, a teasing look on his eyes.

"You're such a damn tease, Brown…" – She murmured.

He laughed. "Hey kid, think positive… if you made it through this time, if you hung on… You'll be able to make it through anything and in this job that's a great quality." – He said and then added. "Just hang in there for a few more hours…You're hell week is about to be over."

Little did Warrick know how wrong he was… The hell-week was just getting started and it wasn't just Morgan's…


	18. Chapter 18: In My Time of Need

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episode 'Grave Danger' isn't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

_**breezygirl - **Glad you like and thanks for reviewing. Here's some more..._

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter 18**

Some hours later, Morgan finally reached her bed. Without even thinking about changing clothes, she kicked out of her Converse All Star snickers and fell onto the mattress. She closed her eyes, which were already half closed, and within moments, she had been taken over by weariness.

However, out of nowhere, she was woken up a couple of hours later. Startled by something unknown, Morgan felt the air escaping her lungs, that awful sensation, for the second time in her life. She passed her hand through her hair, trying to calm herself, but it kept getting more and more intense… that feeling, that void inside her, as she had lost someone she cared about…

"_What the hell is happening with you, Lynn?"_ – She questioned herself. She sat up on the bed and wrapped her arms around her body, suddenly feeling cold. The memory of her brief conversation with Nick, when she had got home a few hours before, strangely came to her.

_(Flashback)_

_Morgan turned the__ key on the lock and opened the door. She dropped her bag on the floor and took off her jacket. As she was in the kitchen grabbing a bite before heading to her so deserved sleep, she heard a noise coming from the hall. She stuck her head out the kitchen's doorway and looked to the hall._

"_Hi. I didn't mean to scare you."_

"_Nick… It's you…" – She whispered, relieved. Her fist that had closed tight around the nearest knife relaxed and she put it down on the cupboard._

"_Yeah. I heard you getting in... I didn't mean to scare you." – He said, blushing a little. "I'm sorry."_

"_It's okay…" - __She smiled, briefly but the weariness was still much evident._

"_You look like hell." – He commented._

"_Oh thank you!" – She said. Nick smiled to her – "You know what I meant."_

_She nodded. "Yeah. I just pulled a triple and I haven't slept in over 36 hours… Your fault, you shouldn't have gone to NY… I'm going to sleep; tonight's my night off, finally."_

"_Morgan…" – He called, as she was about to get inside her room. She turned her head to him – "I need to talk to you… There's something I want to tell you and…"_

"_I'm sorry, Nick. Tomorrow. I can barely stand on my feet…" – She apologized – "I'll listen to you tomorrow, I promise."_

_He nodded, sadly. "Goodnight."_

_(End of Flashback)_

"Something's not right…" – She murmured, looking around him the room, playing with the silver ring on her right hand. "Something doesn't feel right…"

Just then, both her cell phone and her pager started ringing.

**(Some minutes before, on the parking lot between Flamingo and Koval)**

A car pulled up into the parking lot full of Police cars. Catherine and Grissom got out of the vehicle and walked over to Brass, who was talking to the officer at the scene.

"THINK! Did you see anybody else in the area?"

The officer shook his head, evidently nervous about the situation – "I didn't see anything sir. I mean, I only took my eyes off him for a couple of seconds…"

Brass sighed – "You're not supposed to take your eyes off him _ever_." – He said. Turning to Catherine and Grissom, who were passing by him on their way to the initial crime scene, he added – "He's been gone maybe twenty-five minutes."

They went on walking. Grissom took his flashlight from his pocket and pointed it to the bloody body-parts on the floor. He followed the evidence trail left by Nick's markers until he reached number 4. Nick's vest, camera and the rest of the kit rested near the marker. Catherine stopped there and put her kit down. She silently took off her gloves and started to examine his vest, while Grissom kept walking. Catherine spotted something white and reached for the tweezers to pick it up.

"I got some fibbers on Nick's vest… Smell like alcohol." – She said to Grissom, while bagging it.

Meanwhile, he had reached the red fire hydrant and spotted an evidence bag holding a Styrofoam cup. Putting his kit down, he picked up the evidence bag and stared at it attentively while Catherine finished looking at the vest. She realized that he had found something and walked over to him.

"Why'd you bag that?"

"I didn't." – He answered. She knelt down beside him. "It's the wrong colour tape. No initials on the seal. That's not Nick's evidence."

"Maybe it's a message…" – Grissom suggested. He reached for his cell phone and dialled a number.

"Warrick, it's Grissom."

"I already know what happened, I'm heading there." – Warrick informed, anxiety all over his voice.

"I need you to do something first…" – Grissom said, explaining him the situation. A few minutes passed and then, he hung up the phone. Catherine looked at him, doubtful.

"Are you sure that it's appropriate to bring her here?" – She asked.

"We don't have another choice, Cath… If I call her in, explain the situation, she won't go to the Lab, you know that. She'll get a cab and hurry here. It's safer if she comes with Warrick."

Catherine nodded. "You're right… I just can't anticipate her reaction when she gets here…"

"Let me handle it…" – He requested, dialling another number. As she didn't pick up, Grissom insisted.

**(At ****Morgan and Nick's apartment)**

Morgan stared at the engines ringing for a while, but she didn't answer the first time. Her eyes were locked to both the cell phone and the pager, where the names of the callers were written. As a sudden fear took over her, she refused to answer.

However, when the caller insisted, she stretched her arm along the bed and reached for the cell phone.

"… Rodriguez." – She answered, her voice trembling.

"Morgan. I know it's your night off, but I need you to come in." – Grissom's voice echoed in her hear. He seemed nervous; she had never heard him sound so anxious. "Warrick is on his way to pick you up."

"What happened, Grissom?" – She asked, getting up from the bed.

He didn't answer right away and that was the only clue she needed – "Grissom, did something happen to _Nick_?"

"As I said, Warrick is on his way. He'll be there in about ten, fifteen minutes."

"GRISSOM, ANSWER ME! WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO NICK?" – She shouted, losing the little calm she still had until that moment.

He sighed. "Morgan, Nick's missing…"

"Mi-missing? Missing how?"

"We think that he was kidnapped." – Grissom explained. "But we're not sure yet… Warrick will explain you better on your way here, okay?"

"Okay." – She murmured and hung up the phone, after a few seconds. She stripped off the clothes she was wearing, the same she had used for work that day, and put on a pair of black tight jeans and a red t-shirt. She always kept a set of clothes ready, in the chair in front of her bed, in case she was called in the middle of the night. She quickly combed her hair that was all messed up and pulled it up in a high ponytail. She put on her black white-dotted shoes and reached for a grey sweater that was hanging on the back of the chair, leaving the bedroom. Five minutes later, she was waiting in front of the building for Warrick to come pick her up, with her field-kit on the floor, next to her.

When he pulled over his SUV, she jumped in and he silently drove off.

"Fill me in…" – She asked in a low tone, after three long minutes of silence.

He looked at her and swallowed the lump on his throat. "He went to investigate this supposed crime scene, in the parking lot between Flamingo and Koval. Someone had reported some body-parts there. Next thing I know, Grissom is calling me, informing me that he's missing. He's been missing for about 40 something minutes now…"

"How… Was he alone at the scene?"

"No. An officer was there but he says he only took his eyes off Nick for some seconds. He wasn't feeling okay and threw up in the scene. Cops aren't used to blood and so…"

Morgan closed her eyes and tilted her head back, sighing – "Any clue, any message, something that takes us closer to the kidnapper?"

"No. Nothing… yet."

Morgan lighted up a cigarette and opened the passenger's window, moving her arm to the outside, feeling the coldness of the night in her skin. The angst inside her was keeping her from thinking straight and rationally. The conversation she had had with Nick was rolling repeatedly in her mind. The way she had left him talking to himself… The way she had disappointed him… Every time she closed her eyes, his face appeared in front of her, his empty expression when she had turned her back on him being brought to her over and over again.

"Hey…" – Warrick called, looking at her. She kept looking directly to the road, not moving even a muscle. "Hey…" – He called again, lifting her chin up and making her look at him. "We're going to find him…"

She closed her eyes for a second and nodded. "I know…"

On the inside, Morgan wasn't so sure about that. Neither was Warrick…

**(Some place else)**

Nick slowly started to drift back into consciousness. He looked around and found that he was being moved in what it seemed to be the back of a big truck.

"_Where am I?"_ – He thought to himself, scanning around. The last thing he remembered was being at that crime scene, with the weird body-parts. He had spotted a bagged Styrofoam cup and had walked there, to see it better. Then, someone had grabbed him from behind and everything had gone dark.

He tried to move his arms and discovered that his wrists were tied up behind his back, with a plastic thing. He attempted to break the plastic tie up but it was too tight. Nick sat up and he heard the sound of the brakes engaging as the vehicle stopped. He moved up his legs, ready to kick, as he heard the front doors open and close. If whoever had him were going to open the back of the truck, he would kick him out.

As he was waiting for the door in front of him to open, he didn't sense a white gloved hand moving behind him. The person grabbed him from behind and pressed a white cloth against his nose and mouth once again. He began to struggle, moving around but in a matter of minutes, intoxicated by the substance in the cloth, he had passed out.

**(On ****the parking lot, between Flamingo and Koval)**

Catherine stood up inside of the dumpster and looked around. She saw Grissom attentively looking at the pool of blood around the body-parts and he looks up to her.

"Dumpster's clean." – She informed him and sighed. She got out of it and walked to him – "No apparent blood or body parts."

Grissom slightly nodded and pointed his flashlight to what he had been staring. – "Take a look at this…"

Catherine leaned down on his side and looked at the pool. "This seems contrived to me. The blood pool is too perfect. There's no splatter. Like somebody placed these entrails." – Grissom commented.

"A lure. To grab Nick." – She stated. Glancing back, she spoke to David who was standing quietly behind her – "David, get this stuff to the Doc."

He nodded. "Look, I'm… I'm really sorry I didn't get here sooner. Maybe if I had…"

"We're going to get him back, David." – She tranquilized him. Then, the Assistant-Director of the Department, Conrad Ecklie appeared on the back and passed under the crime scene tape, heading over to the place where they stood.

"Gil… Catherine…" – He called and they turned around to him – "I want you to know that, as far as I'm concerned, Lab's only got one case tonight. Same for the rest of the department."

"Thanks, Conrad."

Ecklie expressed a brief nod and walked away. Sirens started to be heard again and they looked to see Warrick driving to the scene, with the red lights flashing, and Morgan sitting next to him. As soon as he stopped the car and turned off the ignition, both of them jumped off the car and walked to the place where Gil and Catherine where waiting.

"Hey." – Warrick said. Morgan, on his side, just lifted her hand up, in a greeting movement. She finished her cigarette and dropped it to the floor, smashing it with her right foot, before passing under the crime scene tape. Catherine looked at her attentively for some seconds. She knew that this young girl was all messed up on the inside but the moment when she passed under that tape, it was as if a transformation happened with her. The sleepy, anxious, crushed Morgan gave place to the work-addict, science expert, CSI Rodriguez. Catherine wondered how she could do it; change her attitude in only a few seconds. Even more, when it was Nick's life on the line, the only member of the team that was able to deal with her and that spent almost 24 hours with her, 7 days a week… The only one that had managed to know Morgan a little more than the rest of them.

"What do you need me to do?"


	19. Chapter 19: Scream

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episode 'Grave Danger' isn't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

_**jenn - **This soon enough? Glad you like and thanks for reviewing._

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter 19**

"Well, there are a lot of intestines here, but no appendix, which made sense when I saw this. A cecum." – Doc Robbins explained to Catherine.

"Dog entrails." – She said.

"Yeah." – He nodded. She sighed – "That's not going to help…" – She said and turned around to leave the morgue. As she opened the door, Doc asked – "Catherine… Has Nick's family been informed?"

"No, that would be my job…" – She answered and left, leaving him alone, looking at the entrails.

In the Lab, while Warrick was hearing some results from Hodges work on what he had found, related to the kidnapper's car, in the scene. Sara was analysing Nick's vest, camera and the other evidences found at the scene when Grissom entered the room she was working in.

"Anything?" – He asked.

"I swabbed the seal for epithelials, but there were no prints on the outside of the bag.

"What about Nick's camera?"

"No fingerprints. There were some photographs, mostly generals. There were a few detail shots of entrails and trash. But no lucky grabs of anybody else in the scene." – Sara answered, evidently unhappy about the lack of any clue.

"I don't think we're going to get lucky with this guy…" – Grissom confessed while walking out of the room, to the hallway. "He knows how to work clean."

"Grissom…" – Greg called, catching up with him. "I pulled all of Nick's active and recent cases."

"I want to know anyone who had a grudge against him. Civilian complaints, death threats…"

"Got it."

"There was a guy a couple of years ago that stalked him. He may be back." – Grissom added, suddenly remembering the figure of Nigel Crane.

"I remember. Top of the pile."

Grissom was already heading to his right when he turned around again – "Greg… call Morgan to help you out with the reviews… She's too tired to be processing evidences. And too affected too, despite trying to disguise it…"

Greg nodded in agreement and turned to his left, passing by the trace lab, where Warrick and Hodges were speaking about Hodges' findings. In the scene, he had been in charge of following the dogs that were tracking Nick's scent. They had lost the scent a little after the fire hydrant and Warrick had noticed a large patch of dry concrete, as if a big vehicle had been parked over there. He had measured the width and length of the patch and given those measures to Hodges.

"I'm using your track and wheelbase measurements plus or minus five percent to account for rain shadowing and/or drying effects." – Hodges explained, as he ran the database. A short list, of approximately six, seven items appeared. Warrick nodded.

"All right, print it out."

When he got the list on his hands, Warrick walked out of the Lab and headed for the Dispatch of the Police Department, to see if they could get anything with the tracking software of the traffic cameras.

**(Some place else)**

The kidnapper shone a flashlight on Nick's face, whose eyes are closed. He ran the flashlight down his body, quickly scanning the coffin where he put him in, a few minutes before. Reaching for a plier, he cut off the plastic tie around Nick's wrists and threw some glow sticks to the coffin. He grabbed one, breaking it and shaking it and a green light starts to come out of the stick. He tossed the lighting stick to the inside of the coffin and it landed on Nick's chest, who stirred a little but remained knocked out.

Kneeling beside the coffin, the kidnapper placed Nick's service pistol, full loaded, near his left hand and a tape recorder next to his other hand. Getting up again, he closed the coffin's cover on Nick, with an ironic grin on his lips.

"Justice will be made…" – He whispered, staring at the lying man trapped in the coffin in front of him, for some brief moments. Then, he covered the coffin with dirt.

**(At the Crime Lab)**

A little later, the team was all reunited in the break room, sharing their findings in what concerned where Nick might be and who might have taken him.

"The Expedition truck left the area around 11.15. Definitely in a hurry. Took a right off Koval onto Tropicana, crossed Las Vegas Boulevard onto 215 east. And then, it drove off the grid." – Warrick informed the others, looking down at the notes he had taken while he had been watching the traffic videos with the Dispatch officer.

"At least we have a general direction…" – Grissom said, trying to bring some hope to his co-workers, whose disappointed faces showed that they were completely lost. Especially Morgan, who had hardly said a word since they'd left the scene.

"Great! So Nick could be anywhere from Green Valley, to Seven Hills to Arizona…" – Sara commented, ironically.

"Assuming he was in that truck." – Greg added. Morgan got up from the table and walked to the coffee-pot, filling up what should be her fifth cup of the evening. She leaned her lower back against the counter and drank a bit, her gaze fixed down at the floor.

"Well, according to Hodges…" – Catherine spoke after some moments of silence – "The white fibbers on Nick's vest were cotton with traces of ether…"

"Ether?" – Sara asked, intrigued. Catherine nodded – "Yeah."

"… That's old school…" – The brunette commented. Warrick added – "Yeah, stuff is volatile. Flammable. Outside of meth cooks, no one uses it anymore."

"Well, it seems that there are people who still use it…" – Morgan commented, speaking for the first time in that 'meeting'. Her voice was rusty due to the lack of use in the last couple of hours. Probably to the amount of cigarettes she had smoked since she had been called and to the litres and litres of coffee she had drunk the past days too.

"People use what they know." – Grissom answered.

"All right, so, where are we on possible suspects?" – Catherine asked, taking off her glasses.

Greg briefly glanced at Morgan and she murmured to him "Go for it." He nodded and answered Catherine's question – "So far, none of Nick's active or recent cases stands out. And his old stalker's still bend bars."

"Maybe…" – Sara pointed – "It's a random act."

"Well, that's possible." – Catherine agreed. "Whoever staged the crime scene couldn't have known that Nick was going to respond."

"Yeah, it was just bad luck he did." – Warrick commented.

"This is not about bad luck, you know it…" – Morgan murmured. They all looked in her direction – "And now, we have nothing. This wasn't random, they, whoever they are, had the intention to attack this Lab. We just don't know why… and we don't have any way to find out." – She stated, putting down the cup – "We don't have any way to find out."

Grissom sighed as he saw the young girl start to pace back and forward in the room, behind them. He looked at the photo of the Styrofoam cup found at the scene and turned to Sara. "What about the coffee cup?"

"No DNA or prints on the cup or in the bag." – She answered, an apologetic look on her face. They started to hear some noise coming for the hallway. Someone was screaming and a familiar voice was calling for Security.

"What the hell..?" – Warrick said, as Grissom was getting up. Morgan, who was near the doorway, stuck her head out.

"Hodges." – She murmured.

"What?"

"Hodges." – She murmured again and left the room, walking to the entrance of the Lab. Everyone got up and followed her. They saw Hodges struggling to take a package out of a deliveryman's hands. When he managed to take it, while the security guard was holding the man, Hodges put it down on the counter.

"Way the guy was pawing that envelope, I figure I better get it away from him before he wipes off all the trace." – He explained, as Grissom asked what he was doing.

"What trace?"

"Oh, right… It's about Nick." – He informed. Everyone seemed to be frozen for a second, as Grissom put on a pair of gloves and picked up the package. Turning to Catherine, he said – "Let me do this."

She nodded and he walked to the Lab, to process the package. Hodges sighed as the rest of the team stood outside, waiting.

**(Some place else)**

Nick started to move and slowly drifted back into consciousness. As he opened his eyes, he saw a green light. Nick tried to sit up, instinctively, but he hit his head on the top of the box. Lying back down, he moved his hand to touch his sore forehead. Instants later, he tried to sit up once more and, again, he couldn't.

Not realizing yet where he was, Nick moved around. He spotted a green glow-stick near his left arm and reached for it, using it to scan where he was. Looking around, Nick realized he was trapped in a box, with dirt covering him everywhere around. He saw the light on the bottom of the box, his service pistol on one side and a tape recorder on the other. He checked the pistol, it was fully loaded. Looking to his sides, he was finally hit by what had happened to him. His breathing begun getting faster and faster as he mentally convinced himself that he had been buried alive. Moving his hand down, Nick found the tape recorder and brought it up, near his face, hitting the 'Play' button.

"Hi CSI guy. You wondering why you're here?" – An unknown voice came out of the tape recorded, taunting him – "Because you followed the evidence. Because that's what CSI's do. So breathe quick… breathe slow… Put your gun in your mouth and pull the trigger. Anyway you like, you're going to die here. Okay."

After hearing the tape, Nick panicked. He tried, by every mean possible, to get out. He hit his fists against the box, moved around, flipped over, and tried to open the box using his strength, but it didn't even move.

Then, Nick realized that there wasn't any way to get out of there. He was a dead man… and he started to scream.

**(At the Crime Lab)**

Inside the envelope, there was a tape and a USB flash drive. Grissom processed everything, every little detail but found nothing. As he finished processing, the rest of the team got inside the room and he placed the tape on the player and hit the 'Play' button.

They circled the table and waited a few seconds. A song started to come out of the player and they listened to hit for a couple of minutes. Morgan was nervously tapping her nails on the table. No one knew what to say, until Catherine lost her composure.

"Son of a bitch… He's screwing with us!"

Grissom showed them the USB flash drive that was also in the package and moved to the computer. They followed him, as the music continued to play. As he connected the device, a message appeared in the screen.

ONE MILLION DOLLARS IN 12 HOURS. OR THE CSI DIES. DROP-OFF INSTRUCTIONS TO FOLLOW.

AND NOW FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE - "YOU CAN ONLY WATCH"

Morgan leaned her head down, as Grissom moved the mouse to click the 'Watch' button. She sensed that she wasn't prepared to see what was coming next. She knew that the song hadn't been picked up randomly. But she also knew that the kidnapper couldn't possibly have known how that damm song was affecting her that moment.

_I know you think you'll get me  
__I'm only flesh and bone  
__But you may as well forget me  
__'cause my heart is stone  
__You better leave me alone yeah!  
__You can try to please me  
__But it won't be easy  
__Stone walls surround me  
__I'm surprised that you even found me _

_And you don't stand an outside chance  
__You don't stand an outside chance  
__But you can try  
__Yeah, keep on trying  
__Stand an outside chance  
__Come on and show me you love me, baby  
__Stand an outside chance  
__You got to try, love... _

When she dared to look up, a few seconds after Grissom clicked the button, her eyes filled up with tears, for the first time in four years. What she saw made her forget the rest of the world for a second. There was Nick. Nick was trapped in what seemed like a coffin to her. The camera that was capturing these images only allowed them to see his head. On the screen, there was also a clock, ticking down from the 12-hour mark.

Nick was lying on that coffin, which seemed to be made of acrylic, as they could see what was surrounding the box. Dirt. _"He's buried alive…"_ – Morgan realized. She didn't want to believe what she was seeing. She wanted to wake up in her bed again, open her eyes to find that this was only a nightmare. Walk through the hall of their apartment, until Nick's room, just to open the door, silently, and see that he was sleeping peacefully on his bed, after a long shift.

But this was real… Dead real.

The more she was seeing him struggling inside that box, the faster she started to breathe. He was trying to open the box… Kicking it, punching it, moving around. However, he couldn't.

She couldn't hear him. In fact, she couldn't hear anyone. She didn't know how the others had reacted. Her gaze was fixed on the screen in front of her, on the desperate man that was lying in a coffin, buried alive… The same man that just happened to be her housemate. The same man that she had allowed to be close to her, so close. The same man that she had just turned down a few hours before. The same man, whose disappointed face was haunting her again and again and again.

Then, he started to scream… and Morgan finally broke down.

With her right fist clenched tight, so tight that her knuckles were dead white, she took a step back and walked away, leaving the room. Her steps took her to the door of the Lab and she pushed the front doors open, walking to the outside.

As the doors closed behind her, she paced right and left, taking deep breaths, trying to control herself. _"Don't do anything stupid, Lynn…"_ – She ordered to herself. She took another deep breathe and she could feel the air invading her lungs. And then, it hit her.

Air. The one thing that was essential for survival… The one thing that Nick would be lacking, really, really soon…


	20. Chapter 20: No Easy Way Out

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episode 'Grave Danger' isn't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

_**jenn - **I'm sorry. This was as soon as I was able to update. School's been killing me, I barely have time to sleep... even less to write. I'll try to update as soon as I can. Thanks for the review. Hope you still like it._

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter 20**

"I don't think he knows we can see him." – Catherine opined, after a while, where they all had remained silent, just looking at the monitor. No one had noticed Morgan leaving the room.

"How can we be sure it's a live feed?" – Sara questioned.

"We've got to assume that it is…" – Warrick answered, obviously shocked. He couldn't stop thinking that it could be him in that box. Earlier that evening, they had had to flip a coin to decide who was going to take that "case", of the suspect body-parts. Luckily for Warrick, he had won. However, he couldn't stop thinking that his gambler instinct (that had failed him so, so many times) had it the right side this time and consequently had thrown Nick into that coffin and sent him to Hell. Even if Catherine hadn't told them to duke it out and had assigned him directly the other case, the robbery at Stripperama, he would have been feeling the same guilt he was feeling now… Warrick couldn't stop thinking that it was Nick, his video game buddy Nick, that was lying six feet under, someplace unknown… Warrick couldn't stop thinking that it could have been _him_ in that box.

Every time he would put his hand on the right front pocket of his jeans, there it was. The damn coin that had decided Nick's fate. _"You keep this. It's bad luck."_ Nick had said, before throwing that coin to him. Yep, bad luck indeed, Warrick knew now…

Grissom, which was sitting at the table behind them, was holding a pocket calculator in his left hand and had a paper in front of him, where he had been doing some calculations, those past moments.

"The space in that box… looks like 2 by 2 by 6, which would be 24 cubic feet." – He informed, looking up from the paper. "That would hold, approximately six hundred litres of air. If you figure half a litre per breath…" – He said, looking down at his watch, counting the breaths per minute. "Maybe 12 breaths per minute. Panic breathing would be, what, twice that much."

Grissom pressed some buttons on the calculator, before looking back up at them. He wanted to give some good news to his team, but it wasn't the case. He could sense everyone holding their breaths for a second, as he took a little time before speaking. - "If the math is right, he's got about an hour and fifteen minutes of air left in that box."

"But if they're going to keep him alive for twelve hours, it must mean that he's got another air supply." – Catherine pointed out.

Inside the coffin, Nick had just spotted an air vent near his head, on his right side. He tried to remove the vent's protection, unsuccessfully. And then, suddenly, the light turned off.

"We lost the feed." – Archie said, as the screen showed that 'You can only watch' message again. Grissom rapidly got up and approached the table, as the rest of them took a step forward. Warrick moved his hand to the mouse and pressed the button, making the feed comeback. Nick squirmed at the unexpected brightness, as the light turned back on.

"Looks like a live feed to me…" – Warrick commented. "I say we keep the light on."

Everyone agreed, expressing their opinion through mute nods. Their eyes remained locked to the screen for a few more moments, until Greg looked around the room and saw that someone wasn't there.

"Hey guys…" – He called. They all looked at him. "Where is Morgan?"

**(At the Police Station)**

"Come on, pick up… Pick up!" – Morgan murmured to the phone, as she jumped out of the service car and walked to the Police Station.

"_Hey. You've reached Sofia Curtis. At the moment, I can't answer the phone. Please leave a message and I'll call you back."_

"Dammit!" – Morgan hissed. It was the forth time she was trying to reach Sofia, but the former CSI, now Detective, wouldn't pick up the phone. "Where are you, Curtis?"

She passed through the front doors of the Police Station and walked to the receptionist. "Hey." – She said, showing her ID. "I'm looking for Captain Brass."

"Rodriguez?" – A male voice asked behind her, as the receptionist reached for the phone, to find Brass.

She turned around. "Oh… Vartann. Hi."

"What are you doing here?" – He asked. He knew about Nick, of course, the whole Las Vegas Police Department knew about the case. He was just surprised to see Morgan there, as he thought that all CSI's were working on the few leads they had, trying to find Nick.

"I'm… looking for Brass." – She answered. "I think he is interrogating the delivery-man, who brought that package to the Lab, a little while ago."

"I'll take you there." – He said, nicely, and pointed to the hall in front of them. They walked side by side, in silence, until the end of the hall. Brass was interrogating the man on the last Interrogation Room on their left. Vartann stopped in front of the door and turned to Morgan. "They're in that room. Do you want to get in and watch the Interrogation or do you prefer to wait outside?" – He asked.

"I… I'd rather not go in there. I'll wait for him here, if that's okay..." – She shyly answered, in a very rusty tone.

"It's fine, Rodriguez. They'll should be over soon too." – He said. Alex Vartann wasn't as close to the team as Brass, obviously, but other than the older Detective, he and Sam Vega also got along with the graveyard workers quite friendly. And, of course, as Nick was one of the dearest persons in the Lab, everyone was really worried about him and trying to help as much as they could. Even Ecklie, who had earnestly tried to fire him, when the "Hooker Incident", as he called it, had happened, about five years before. Morgan nodded briefly, and leaned her face down, staring at her shoes.

"We are going to find him." – He said, trying to show her some confidence and to give her some hope.

"I know… We're going to find him." – She repeated his words, as if the more she repeated it, more were the odds of it coming out to be real.

Vartann moved his head in agreement. "You want me to get you anything, while you wait? Coffee, some water…?" – He offered.

"No, thanks, I'm fine…" – She said, in a whisper, politely declining his offer. Minutes later, the door of the Interrogation Room opened wide, with Brass leaving in a hurry, passing by without even having seen them.

"Hey Jim…" – Vartann called. The Detective turned around, and spotted Morgan on Vartann's side. Surprised to see her there, walked back to the place where they stood, in front of the Interrogation Room where he had just been.

"What are you doing here?"

Morgan ignored his question – "What did he say?"

"Loads of crap. Boots over there is quite annoying, but I was able to rescue an address." – Brass answered. Her face lit up with this last information and she looked at him.

"Where?" – She asked, her voice barely audible, in a murmur.

"625, Viking Circle." – Brass answered. "I'm going there now. Vartann, can you please take care of her?"

He nodded and Brass walked away from them, once more, moving quickly and dialling some numbers on his cell phone. Morgan stood there for some seconds before making her mind – "The hell I'm going to stay here… I'm going with you." – She said, catching up with him.

"Rodriguez…"

"There is a possibility that might be something in that house that can help us finding Nick. I'm a qualified CSI to analyse it and I guess that there's no one in your crew that has the same skills I do, to process scenes."

"You better stay here."

"Make me." – Morgan challenged. She felt a twist on her stomach. She had never challenged Brass's orders before, or any other of her superiors in the matter, but this was like a game. If she wanted to get Nick back, she was going to risk it all. And she did.

"What did you just say?"

"Make me." – She repeated, looking right into Brass's eyes. "Jim, you know that even if you leave right now and leave me behind, I will follow you, against your orders."

Brass thought about her words for a moment, before dropping his guard and sighing – "I know. Come on."

**(Twenty minutes later)**

"Code four. Code four." – Brass notified. He stared at the man, snoring. The television sound level was way too high but the guy was sleeping peacefully in the chair. He hadn't even noticed when they had kicked the door open. The cops that had broken inside the residence walked out the door followed by the Detective, who was already dialling some numbers on his cell phone.

"Grissom."

"Gil, it's Brass. The address was a waste of time. Nothing here but a fat drunk and a bad smell." – He informed, looking around as he stepped out of the house's perimeter. Morgan was leaning against the trunk of the car that had got both of them there.

"The guy probably picked the house at random because he knew we would chase it."

"Any news on the web cam location?" – Brass asked, walking to the place were the young CSI was waiting. She hadn't realized that he had gotten out of the house yet. As she saw him, her eyes opened wide, a glimpse of hope that he had found something inside the residence. Brass looked at her and sadly shook his head. She looked down at the floor and sighed. Another dead end…

"Archie's trying to narrow it down. The feed stays active for two minutes every time you press the "Watch" button. But I got to go. I have people to see." – Grissom answered, on the other side of the line.

"Okay." – Brass said and hung up. He approached Morgan, who had her back turned to him, and put a hand on her shoulder. "We should go back to the Police Station… there's nothing more we can do here…" – He suggested.

She nodded and wordlessly got into the passenger's seat of Brass's car.

**(In the Crime Lab)**

Grissom was walking through the hallway of the Lab, heading for one of the offices. On his way there, he walked past Conrad Ecklie, who was repeating to the Lab crew the very same words he had said to him, some minutes earlier in the morning.

"Everybody, I have some bad news. Uh… A little while ago, I spoke with the Mayor, directly. The city of Las Vegas is not going to finance a ransom. It's… against the Department policy to negotiate with terrorists. No exceptions." – He said, feeling horrible as he saw the amount of disappointed faces that stood in front of him.

Near by, Grissom had just gotten inside one of the offices, where Catherine was waiting for him, sitting in front of a very anxious and worried couple.

"Judge Stokes, Mrs Stokes… Gil Grissom." – Catherine introduced.

"Your honour, Mrs Stokes. I'm sorry that we're meeting under these circumstances." – Grissom said, his voice apologetic.

"Have you been able to make contact with the animals who took my son?" – Nick's father, Bill Stokes, asked, as Grissom sat down on Catherine's side, who had been Nick's active supervisor for the past months.

"No, we haven't yet." – She answered, briefly sharing a glance with Grissom. "But they should be contacting us in roughly four hours."

"We were able to rustle up 20.000 cash. Our bank's prepared to wire another 100.000. Now, we can sell the cars, we can hock the ranch… We can make the number but it's going to take at least another day."

"Judge Stokes…"

"Can we give them the money we have now, try to buy more time?" – Nick's mother, Jillian, proposed, interrupting Grissom and pushing the money envelope across the table, towards them.

Catherine and Grissom shared another glance and he spoke, as honestly as he could – "I don't think that will help."

"There's got to be something we can do." – Bill said.

"You've already done it by coming here, by showing your support..." – Catherine explained, knowing perfectly that Nick's parents would never accept it. She was a mother too… If anything similar would happen to Lindsey, she would never stay still and wait for some perfect strangers to search for her. Jillian's answer was the exact one that Catherine would give, in case she was in the same situation as the anguish woman that was sitting in front of her.

"We're not here to show support. We're here to get Nick home."

"We're not sure who has your son… or why." – Grissom informed.

"Well… what the hell do you know?" – Judge Stokes asked.

"Very little…"

"Let's just cut to the gist. What proof do you have that my boy's still alive?" – He insisted.

Catherine and Grissom shared another look. They realized that what they had been trying to avoid was impossible. They had to show the feed to Nick's parents.

**(Roughly four hours later)**

Catherine walked into Grissom's office, carrying a large brown leather bag with her. She put it down in front of him, on his desk and stated – "I got the money."

"From where?" – He asked, despite having a suspicion of what her answer was going to be. And he confirmed his suspicion when she answered him.

"From where do you think?"

Grissom looked several times at her and at the bag, before opening it and scanning the inside. "Catherine, if the press finds out about this, it'll look like Sam Braun bribed the Lab."

"He's a casino owner. A leader of industry. Never convicted of any crime. And right now, I don't care about the integrity of the Lab. At the moment, I care about Nick."

"Well, yeah, so do I, but nonetheless…"

Catherine interrupted him – "You're sitting here like Jack Handy with your deep thoughts, staring at a coffee cup. You got a better plan, I'm all ears."

He looked at the money inside the bag, thinking for a while. She was right, this was their best shot. "All right, but I make the drop. You're hands off."

"That's my money."

"You can't been seen anywhere near this money. It was given to the Lab anonymously. Agreed?" – He asked and she reluctantly nodded.

Some moments later, in front of Archie's really tired eyes, Nick's image disappeared from the screen, to give room to a message.

4672 CARNEY LANE - BOULDER HWY

BE THERE IN 20 MINUTES

OR DON'T BOTHER COMING.

In less than twenty minutes, Grissom was standing, alone, in front of an abandoned storage, his right hand gripped tight around the brown leather bag. And again, less than twenty minutes later, an violent explosion assaulted the storage, when Walter Gordon, the kidnapper, pulled the plug on the bomb he had, wrapped around his waist, sending Grissom flying back against the floor… leaving them with, apparently, no way to find Nick.

**(Down at the Police Station, on the basement, in the Weapon Training Room)**

Several bullets were being shot, repeatedly. When she was finished, Morgan took of the ear's protection and put the gun down. Being only a CSI Level 2, she wasn't allowed to carry a weapon yet, but shooting bullets as a training, had almost become one of her hobbies, lately, now that it seemed that her past was always trying to catch up and get in her way, even more intensely than usual.

"Morgan." – Vartann called, getting inside the room and waving his hand, for her to walk to him. She took off the protection glasses and approached him.

"Yeah?" – She asked. He had been put in charge, by Brass, to keep an eye on her, since they had returned to the Police Station.

"Go get your kit. You're needed in the field. You have a crime scene to process."


	21. Chapter 21: Waking the Demon

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episode 'Grave Danger' isn't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

_**jenn - **A thousand apologies. I had a problem with my computer and well.. you know the rest. School has been tough. I hope you're still enjoying the story. Here's some more._

_**Arwennicole - **Thanks. Glad you like. Here's some more._

_**EmSyd - **Thank you. Here's the new chapter. Hope you enjoy it too._

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter 21**

"Pupils are even." – The EMT that was checking on Grissom's condition said aloud.

"He blew himself up and left us with nothing…" – Grissom murmured, thinking. He had some cuts on his forehead, from the impact of the explosion that had thrown him back against the floor. The cuts weren't too deep but they were bleeding nonetheless and Brass had insisted for him to be seen by the paramedics. But Grissom wasn't worried about himself; he was worried about Nick. The only thing that still connected them with their colleague that was buried six feet under had just vanished.

"Sir, are you experiencing any ringing in your ears?" – The EMT asked.

"_No, I'm just experiencing being about to lose a friend and not being able to do a damn thing about it!"_

"We got the kidnappers truck. Nevada tags: 374 – Robert – Charlie – David. Run the plate." – Brass ordered to the phone, coming out of the storage. Right now, this was the only clue that they had. He had already called the Police Station, for Detective Vartann to bring Morgan to help analyzing the scene. That moment, as insensitive as it might seem, he couldn't care less if she was affected or not. They all were… and Grissom couldn't process the storage. The team was already one element short. Now, more than ever, they needed Morgan's skills. As Brass as said once, a few years back, these were the guys that he would like to have investigating his murder… And now, that this young woman had joined them, they had become stronger and the whole Lab knew it. That was the reason why, when Sofia had been around, everyone would hate those two… they, alone, would kick out the day-shift blondies anytime, anywhere… No one could deny that.

Inside the building, Warrick and Greg were taking care of the kidnappers truck, a Ford Expedition. They had opened the hood and were now trying to connect the black box of the engine to Warrick's laptop.

"That's the wrong box, Greg." – Warrick said.

"Well, pick one. There's three." – Greg answered, using the same accusing tone the other male had.

"That one, right there!" – Warrick pointed to the right box, his voice even more aggressive.

"Give me a break. I haven't done this before." – Greg defended himself, as he connected the box to the laptop.

"All right, let's go over it again. The diagnostic unit gets attached to that black box, which gives us the mileage of his last trip. Like an airplane."

"That gives us the radius for the search area." – Greg added.

"Right." – Warrick agreed. He knew he was being too hard on the rookie CSI but he couldn't control his attitude that moment. Nick was still missing… and until they got him back, alive, he wasn't going to give anyone a break…

"Got it." – Greg said, nodding his head and moving over to look at the laptop monitor. Mere seconds later, it beeped.

"Twenty three miles." – Warrick read. "We know that he was heading east on the 215…"

"I'll get a map." – Greg completed his train of thought and moved away from the truck to get it. Catherine passed by him, her hair pulled up in a ponytail, her feet covered with blue plastic. She step on a bloodied bill and lifted her left foot up to grab it.

"Somebody bag this money, please?" – She asked, hading the bill to an officer that was near by. "And don't get any funny ideas either." – She warned, walking to the inner room, where the kidnapper, who was still a John Doe to them, had blown himself.

"What I had to do to get this money… and for what?" – She muttered, looking around to the destroyed room. The money was sprawled everywhere. In the middle of the room, David and Sara surrounded a lump of flesh, what was left of a man. He was searching the scattered clothes of what seemed like a human chest, trying to find anything. She was by his side, patiently waiting.

"There's no ID on him." – He informed. Sara sadly got up and started walking around the room, carefully trying not to smash anything. She didn't know what she was looking for as she scanned around, moving randomly over the amount of bills and blood splatter. She finally spotted something on the floor and leaned down to pick it.

She brought it up to her eyes and examined it for a while before exclaiming, almost shocked. – "I got a thumb."

**(At**** the Crime Lab)**

Warrick had returned from the exploded storage and he got himself a cup of coffee and walked to Archie's working room, to check on Nick's condition, before having to leave again.

"How's he doing?" – He asked, sitting down next to the Archie. The video expert looked at him and shrugged.

"Hard to say. About the same, I guess…" – He answered, his eyes tired of staring at the same image for a very long time. "I'm going to get some coffee." – He said, getting up and leaving. Archie didn't express it, but he also needed to get some air, clear his head a little bit, wave Nick's trapped image away from his thoughts.

"Yeah." – Warrick murmured. He put his cup down and watched the monitor. As they were losing the feed, every two minutes, he automatically would click the 'Watch' button to get track of it again.

On a room near by, Sara was processing the thumb she had found in the scene. She clean it the best she could, careful not to ruin any piece of evidence, and she was able to get out a print from the thumb. Feeling a new hope, she hurried to scan the print into the computer and run it through CODIS.

NO MATCH FOUND.

"_Dammit!"_ – Sara cursed.

**(Someplace else)**

The damn light was driving him insane. Who the hell was torturing him like that? Couldn't they keep it off? It was cutting down the oxygen, for Christ's sake. Was that how they were going to kill him?

Nick decided to do something about the light. _"I'm not going to die so soon… I'm not going down so easily!"_ – He told himself. Reaching into the back pocket of his jeans, he took the pack of gum out and picked one. He popped it into his mouth, giving it two or three chews and then spitting it off and breaking it in two halves, placing each one on his ear. Afterwards, he reached for his gun and cocked it, making sure it was ready to shoot.

Taking a deep breathe, he pointed the gun right to the light and, without thinking twice, Nick shot.

**(At the Crime Lab)**

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" – Warrick shouted, startled by the blackness that now covered the monitor. How did he dare? Nick had just cut off the only connection that they had with him. "Damn bastard!"

Suddenly, a bright green hue appeared in the screen and he saw his buddy's face again.

"Oh…" – Warrick murmured, his gaze still fixed on the monitor, watching Nick laughing triumphantly, as he was feeling the fresh air right on his face. Warrick nodded, a small grin on his lips – "You're still alive."

**(A little later)**

Sara was now waiting to see if Mia could get anything further out of the thumb. She had been staring at the water fountain, just watching the water run in front of her, for about five minutes. It was getting harder and harder for Sara Sidle to maintain it all together, as she was worried and anxious. She didn't even noticed when Mia pushed the DNA Lab's door open and called her out.

"Sara…I got something off your thumb." – Mia informed, excited. Sara turned her head to her and ran there.

**(Down at the Police Station, in one of the Interrogation Rooms)**

Sara and Brass were interviewing Kelly Gordon, the kidnapper's daughter, trying to get something, some detail that could help them find out where Nick was. Morgan had insisted to be there too. However, she was watching the Interrogation on the side room, standing next to Vartann who was still following Brass's orders and wouldn't take his eyes off her, not even for a moment.

"You _do_ know you don't have to baby-sit me just because Brass said so, right?" – She asked, her eyes fixed on the woman sitting in front of Brass and Sara.

"Don't even think about it, Rodriguez… I do not intend to take my eyes off you. And it's just not because Brass said so. It's because I think I know all too well what you're capable off and I don't want to have to lock you up in a cell for you to stay still. I'm worried about you…"

"How many dinners did Sofia promise to pay you for you to watch over me?" – She asked with a small grin on her lips. She knew that Vartann and Sofia were close, very close indeed and she had always had some sympathy towards the Detective.

He smiled – "That's confidential…" – He said, looking back to the _show_ in front of them.

"Did you know what he was planning to do?" – Sara asked.

Kelly shook her head – "No, I don't know. What did he do?" – She was a little shocked with the news from her father's death, but she didn't seem much affected by it.

Brass answered – "He kidnapped a friend of mine. A CSI. And then he blew himself up. Tried to take some cops with him."

"How many did he get?" – She asked, and they could see a little glimpse of joy in her eyes.

Brass gave her an ironic smile – "Hey, we're all still here." Sara interrupted him – "Nick is still missing."

"Who's Nick?" – Kelly asked, confused.

"The CSI is still missing. Do you know where he is?" – Sara asked, impatient. Kelly turned to her and it was her time to show an almost ironic smile, as she commented – "That's pretty funny… you guys not being able to find something."

"Yeah, look, if you cooperate, we can get your sentence reduced." – Brass informed.

Kelly nodded - "You know what I used to do before this? Back when I was alive? I used to grow things. Outside. I was studying horticulture. Flowers. My cellmate, Trish, gave me one for Valentine's Day." – She said and stretched her arm along the table, opening her hand. On her palm, there was a tattoo of a white flower.

"Do you want to smell it?" – She asked. As she got no response, she snapped - "I hope your friend dies!" Sara and Brass stared at her, not moving even a muscle.

Morgan, who had been leaning against the glass that separated the two rooms, reacted as if she had been hit by something. She almost ran out of the room, quickly opening the door of the Interrogation Room, and walking to the table. Before anyone could stop her or respond to her movements, she grabbed Kelly by the collar of her orange prison suit and dragged her off the chair, pushing her back hard against the wall.

"Rodriguez!" – Brass shouted, standing up from his chair.

She ignored him and stared at Kelly, looking deep into her eyes with rage and hate all over her face. Then, she spoke in a very, very low tone, almost whispering – "You listen to me and you listen to me good because I'm not going to repeat this: you better pray with all your strength that we're able to find Nick alive and bring him back in one piece… Cause if we don't, I swear to God, in this very split second, that, if he dies or is rescued with any serious or minor injury, I'll make my own personal task to wait for you to get out and hunt you down, Kelly. You will regret the day that you even thought about stepping this planet and beg to go back to prison because I'll make my goal in life to turn yours into a living hell, even worse, even more miserable than it is right now. If something happens to Nick, Kelly, I'll make sure that you'll pay for what your dear daddy made him bear and, believe me, you'll hate your life even more than you currently do. So, if you know anything about where the hell your father buried Nick, you better say it and say it _now_. Keep my name and my face in your memory, Kelly, cause if something happens to him just because you kept your damn mouth shut for your dead father's sake, the next time you'll see me, will be about the same time you'll see anything on this Earth for the last time!"

With this, she released Kelly and walked out of the Interrogation Room, avoiding Brass, Vartann and Sara's eyes, whose she knew that were fixed on her. She headed to the locker room, hoping that no one was there so that she could relieve all her angst and desperation. On her way, she accidentally ran into Catherine, who had just finished analysing some traces that they had found on the storage where Walter had blew himself up. Without stopping, she muttered an apology and kept going straight without looking back; she knew that she would break down in the middle of that hall if she stopped there, that moment.

"Rodriguez! Hey…" – Catherine called. She went after her and, when she walked inside the locker room, she saw Morgan leaning against her locker, trying to catch her breath, her hands sliding down her long hair.

Catherine approached her – "Hey… how are you holding up?" Morgan turned to her and sighed heavily – "Obviously, I'm not, right?" – She answered. "I almost ripped Gordon's daughter's head off, during her interrogation…. I'm losing it, Catherine."

"Don't give up kiddo. Clear your head and keep yourself together, as you always do when you're working. Don't lose hope, Rodriguez."

"Evidences and time are taking me the other way… We're racing against it and we're losing. The only thing that tells us that Nick is still alive is that damn monitor over there!" – She snapped. They fell into silence for some minutes, until Morgan confessed – "Something had happened to him in NY…"

Catherine looked at her – "What are you talking about?"

"He said he needed to talk to me and that it was important. But I had covered for Lisa, of the day shift, remember? I had just worked three straight shifts, I hadn't slept in over 36 hours and I've done so many doubles this week that I just _needed_ to sleep. I was so, so tired that I told him that we would talk the next day. I had promised him, some time ago, that I would always be there for him… And I failed, in the most damn important moment!" – Morgan took a quick breath – "I was so busy being selfish and just thinking about myself that I totally ignored that he needed me, he needed to talk to someone and I turned my back on him. Now, he's there, trapped in that damn box, buried in some unknown place… Relying on a whispered hope that we will find him… Fooling himself."

Catherine was speechless. "Morgan, don't start it. Please." – She asked.

"I can't lose him, Catherine…" – Morgan confessed, out of nowhere, blushing almost immediately at the intimacy revealed by her confession.

"Look at me…" – Catherine made her face her – "Listen, when you look at that monitor, what do you see?" – She asked. Morgan looked at her, quizzically, not getting the point of that inquisition. She explained – "You see Nick fighting. He's trapped in that box, only God knows where and he's struggling to keep living. He's relying on us and he hasn't lost hope yet. Nick trusts us; he trusts you, Morgan. And we can't leave him alone, not now, not yet, now this way… Just because we lost hope."

Morgan looked at her and nodded. Catherine hugged her – "Hang in there, kid… We'll get him back in safety… I promise."

Morgan felt a new strength building inside her, all because of Catherine's words. However, the blonde wasn't so sure herself if she was going to keep her promise. She was a very experient CSI already, and she knew that it was going to be really tough… what if they weren't able to save him? How was she going to explain to the shattered young girl, sitting next to her, that her promise was a lie?


	22. Chapter 22: Endless Sacrifice

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episode 'Grave Danger' isn't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

_**EmSyd - **Thanks. Here it is._

_**Samsara Dallire - **Thanks for the complement. It meant a lot. Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying it._

_**jenny - **It's finally updated! Forgive me once more for the long wait. School's fault._

_**DememterSinclair - **There you go. Here's some more, hope you still like it._

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter 2****2**

"It was Christmas in Las Vegas, when the locals take the town…" – Nick sang softly, to himself. "Teresa hit a streak and laid her waitress apron down."

He didn't know how much time had passed since he had woken up trapped in that coffin. He was trying to keep it all together, trying really hard, but his hopes were getting more and more weaker. Not knowing why he was there, six feet above ground, struggling to breathe, struggling to survive… it was killing him faster than all the rest.

Strangely, or maybe not so strangely, he couldn't take Morgan off his thoughts. He kept thinking that if he died then, he wouldn't have a chance to tell her what he had wanted to tell her, the night before…

"Please find me, Morgan…" – He murmured. "I know you're trying… Please find me…"

**(At the Crime Lab)**

"Anything new, Arch?" – Morgan asked, entering the room. After her talk with Catherine, as the older CSI had left the locker room to go back to the storage with Warrick and Greg to see if they could find anything else, Morgan had decided to take a brief shower and change clothes. The shower hadn't fulfilled its purpose: clear her head, if only for a moment, of Nick's trapped image.

"Like I said to Grissom a while ago…" – Archie started, turning to her – "The light and the fan must have been running off the same battery."

"And Nicky?" – Morgan questioned, braiding her wet hair. She had never called him 'Nicky' before, which made her shiver just at the thought that she could never get the chance to call him that again.

Archie noticed how she was trying not to look at the monitor. "He seems to be keeping it together… if that's possible."

She sighed. "Any trace that may give us a lead?"

"The web cam signal's running through an anonymizer. Different ISP each time we click the button. But I think I've got a handle on the pattern. I'm getting closer…"

"Keep working on it, Archie…You'll get there." – She said, patting his shoulder and turning around. She left the room without even looking once at the monitor. As she was randomly walking through the Lab, she kept repeating – _"Hang in there, Nick… We'll get you. Just hang in there for a little longer…"_

**(In the storage, at Carney Lane)**

Catherine, Greg and Warrick were back at the scene. She was taking some pictures of the van while Warrick was sketching a layout of the scene, clearly not totally focused on what he was doing. On the other side, Greg was sitting on top of a plastic bin, scanning attentively through the items that were pilled up in other plastic bin. When, for about the fifth time, Warrick ripped the paper where he had been sketching and tossed it away, they looked up to him, for brief seconds.

"Hey, I found a trigger wire." – Greg announced, getting up. "Maybe ... once we reassemble all the components, we'll be able to tell where the bomb came from. Maybe we--"

"Yeah!" – Warrick interrupted. "Maybe, maybe, maybe… Maybe if we count up all the damn 'maybes', maybe Nick will be alive!" – He snapped, finally. Angrily and nervously, he kicked the nearest object. By luck, or maybe not, it was a plastic container, which ended up right on Greg, spilling whichever was in it.

"Was that necessary? Nevermind my clothes, look at the evidence…" – Greg pointed out, putting down his clipboard.

"Dammit!" – Warrick hissed, walking away. Catherine got out of the truck and followed him – "Sorry, Greg… I'll go talk to him."

Greg nodded and Catherine caught up with Warrick near the doorway – "Hey, Warrick, hey… How are you holding up?"

"I'm not." – He assumed. He knew he had lost it. He wasn't a damn machine, who could be turn off when something personal hit the job. He was a human being, an emotional one. The case with Aimee Phelps, several years back, had strike him hard… Nick was a close friend of his… He couldn't seem 'okay' with the fact that Nick could not make through this one…

"I know." – Catherine agreed.

"I just can't help thinking that could have been me in that box, you know?" – He confessed. "We flipped a coin for that trash run…"

"Hey, Nick is not inside a box because of the flip of a coin… Warrick, you have to focus. Morgan's lost... She's not emotionally capable of doing anything for this case anymore. She's out… We need you. Nick needs you, Warrick..."

He nodded. "If it was me, I would have…" – Warrick said, pressing two fingers against the side of his head.

"I know you. I don't believe that, okay?"

"No. You're wrong." – Warrick responded. "I wouldn't have lasted this far. Catherine, if something happens to Nick, if we don't bring him back in one piece…"

"Hey guys, come here…" – Greg called out, evidently excited about something. "I found something…"

**(At the Crime Lab, in the Break Room)**

"Another coffee..." – Morgan murmured. "You'll get a seizure if you keep ingesting caffeine at this speed, Lynn…"

She was sitting down at the couch, when her cell phone started ringing. She stretched her arm to the table in front of her and grabbed her phone, reading the name announced on the screen.

"Goddamit, Sofia, where the hell have you been?" – She picked up, clearly anxious. "I've been calling you again and again for the past 24 hours!"

"Sorry, Morgan, I had a really busy day and night here and I only got the time to answer to your calls now… Where is the fire?"

"In Las Vegas."

"Uh?"

"Nick's been missing for almost 24 hours now, Sofia… He's buried six feet under, somewhere in Vegas, we don't know where and time is running out and…" – Morgan talked, nonsensely.

"Hey, hey Rodriguez, hang on… Calm down." – She said. "You're not making any sense to me. You need to take a deep breath and calm down. Then, you can explain me."

Morgan sat back on the couch and took a deep breath. "Okay…"

"Okay, so now tell me it all, from the beginning…"

"Nick went to investigate this supposed crime scene. We don't know much about it, there were some body-parts that someone reported. The officer that was with him wasn't feeling okay so he turned and went to catch some air. When he turned back to the place, Nick wasn't there anymore."

"He wasn't supposed to leave him. They have to watch CSI's all the time during the processing period…" – Sofia commented, in a low tone.

"We received a package some hours later. It contained a USB flash drive, that led us to a website. The website has been active for the past 22 hours. It…it shows Nick, lying on a coffin, buried alive."

"Oh my God!" – Sofia exclaimed.

"The kidnapper was the only person who knew where he was…" – Morgan started but she trailed off before she could finish the sentence. "We interviewed his daughter a little while ago. I was there, I almost killed her. She's been in prison for three years now."

"And where is the kidnapper? If you know who he is, you can go arrest him…" – Sofia opined.

"Sofia…" – Morgan sighed. "He blew himself out about three hours ago. Tried to take Grissom with him."

"Oh no…"

"We have nothing… I lost it, I lost hope, Sofia…" - She confessed. "All I can think about it that I have to save Nick, but I don't know how… I can't lose him, Sofia, I can't."

"Morgan, hey, calm down… Nick's not dead yet and nor will he be anytime soon. You guys are going to find him, okay? Are you listening to me? You are going to find him."

"I just pray you're right, Sofia… I just pray you're right."

"You don't pray, Rodriguez… You don't believe in God." – Sofia added, trying to light a little her friend's conscience. She was feeling bad for not being there for her that moment. It seemed that every time Morgan needed her, she was far away, working. That was destroying her relationship with Vartann, making it fall to pieces… Sofia just hoped it wouldn't do the same with her friendship with Morgan.

"But Nick does, Sofia… We're out of forensic evidences; science doesn't help anymore in this situation… I lost hope… All I have left it's Nick's belief in God. And if I have to stick with that and pray for him, I will."

**(Back at the storage, at Carney Lane)**

"There's something underneath here…" – Greg said, showing them what he had found.

The three of them started to brush away the dirt, just to find some edges. Catherine asked Greg to go get some crowbars. When he returned, he handed one of them to Warrick, asking – "Do you think Nick could be under here?"

"I don't know, man." – Warrick answered. "It would have to be at least six feet long." – He commented, as they were able to the concrete lid up.

"Yeah, but if he buried him lengthwise, and who's to say he didn't…" – Catherine suggested. "… He could be."

The three of them shared quick glances, before an urgent, death defying will to hastily start digging assaulted them and they got some shovels and begun digging out the area. At a certain point, it was Warrick and some more officers digging, while Catherine and Greg nervously stood aside, watching, waiting…

**(Someplace else)**

In the darkness of the coffin, Nick started to hear a noise. It seemed like someone was scratching the dirt around him. He immediately searched for another glow stick and broke it in the middle, getting more light to look for whatever that was causing that sound. It was getting closer and he could get it.

"Hey!" – He shouted. "Hey, I'm here!"

He began knocking on the Plexiglas in front of him, desperately. "HEY!" – He shouted once more, his voice husky and cracking. The noises continued but nothing seemed different. Maybe whoever was making that noise hadn't heard him yet, so he decided to start singing, even louder than before, even thought his voice was almost fading.

"It was Christmas in Las Vegas, when the locals take the town… Teresa hit a streak and lad her waitress apron down."

**(Back at the storage, in Carney Lane)**

"I hit something." – Warrick informed, as he used the tip of his shovel to taps at whatever he had hit. The noise that resulted from his action was a hollow thumping. He threw the shovel aside and kneeled down, starting to dig with his own bare hands.

Catherine stooped down on his side and helped him. "It's Plexiglas."

"NICK!" – They both called, as they continued to dig. "Nick, hold on there, buddy..." – Warrick said, as they brushed away the remaining dirt, that was covering the top of the box.

When they finally uncovered the top of the box, Warrick and Catherine found out that it wasn't Nick who was inside it.

"It's a dog." – Catherine exclaimed, desperate. "It's a dog."

Standing up, Warrick got out of the hole and shook his head in frustration and disappointment, as Catherine sighed.

"_Dammit!"_

**(Some place else)**

The scratching noise continued. Nick was anxiously looking around. "I'm here!" – He shouted over and over again. Sighing, he looked at his feet, to the place where the bullet he had used to destroy the light had hit the coffin. Some dirt was flowing to the inside of the box and, suddenly, he saw that the Plexiglas around the bullet's hole was beginning to crack.

His breathing grew faster and faster as he watched the walls that surrounded him crack. "Stop, stop, stop, stop…" – He murmured. As it finally stopped, he tilted his head back.

"Oh my God."

Minutes later, the dirt covered already a part of his legs. He was more trapped than ever and he didn't know what more to do. Reaching for the tape recorder, he opened and changed the tape to the other side. Pressing the 'Record' button, he watched as the Plexiglas continued to crack, little by little. Then, he started to speak.

"My name is Nick Stokes. If anybody finds this tape, turn it in to the Las Vegas PD. There should be a reward." – He took a pause. "Mom… Cisco… well, this is a lousy way to say goodbye, but it's all I've got…"

**(At the Crime Lab)**

Nick didn't know he was being watched. As Archie was working hard to discover the web cam location, Sara and Grissom were there, watching over him. As the feed didn't catch any sound coming from the coffin, Grissom was reading Nick's lips.

"Grissom…" – He silently mouthed, reading what Nick was saying. "I want you to know that I never meant to disappoint you…"

The Supervisor sighed. "No, you never did, Nick." – He answered aloud, as if Nick could hear him.

Suddenly, he dropped the tape recorder, looking down at his feet. He begun moving around, apparently losing his mind. Sara, Archie and Grissom watched him convulsing.

"He's losing it." – She said, desperately. She turned to Grissom, who was as surprised as she was. "What's going on?" – She questioned, as Nick appeared to be totally in panic.

"Wait a minute…" – Grissom murmured, spotting something on the monitor. He zoomed the camera and focused it on the wall near Nick's head. His eyes opened wide as he realized what was causing Nick's panic.

Sara and Archie were confused, looking at him and at the monitor.

"Ants." – He said. He had now found out that Nick wasn't panicking. He was screaming. "Oh my God… he's being eaten alive!"


	23. Chapter 23: Time is Running Out

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episode 'Grave Danger' isn't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

_**EmSyd - **Thanks. Here's some more. This is the last chapter concerning the real episode of 'Grave Danger'. Hope you like it._

_**jenn - **This time I didn't leave you waiting much longer. Thanks for the compliment. I've tried to balance the real episode with my view of how it would be with Morgan there. This is the last chapter that concerns that episode. Hope you like it._

_**pas.de-chat8 - **Thanks. I'm glad you like the story. Yeah, they'd be really cute together.. but are they going to be together? -smiles- You'll have to keep reading to find out. Here's more. Hope you like it too._

_**Samsara Dallire - **Thanks. Yes, she's trying to keep it together but it's getting harder as time goes by. She does care a lot about Nick... she's just struggling a lot against those feelings. _

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter 23**

Ants. Little legs stepping all over him, his clothes, his skin… It was like all the thinnest needles in the entire world were stinging him whole, torturing him. And he was screaming, silently praying for it to stop, wishing all the bites would just end.

But they weren't going to end so soon. This was just the beginning. And Nick knew it… He just knew it _so _well…

**(At the Crime Lab)**

Sara stood behind Grissom, both attentively looking at the monitor, watching as Nick's face was being covered by ants. She sighed in preoccupation but he didn't made a move. Nick searched his jeans' pockets and found something to put inside his nose, protecting it from the ants.

Evidently in an extremely angst, they stared as he fought himself to stop squirming around, despite the pain that he was being forced to bear.

"That's it, Nicky… Stay still. They won't bite…" - Grissom commented, almost with a grin on his lips, and then adding – "As much."

----

"Sofia?"

"Hey Alex. I know you're probably wondering why I'm calling now… It's about Nick." – Sofia said, quickly.

"Nick?" – Vartann questioned. "How do you know?"

"Morgan has been calling me non stop since he disappeared and I finally talked to her, a while ago. She's so…"

"Messed up." – He completed. "I've noticed that." A heavy silence followed his comment, until the moment Sofia spoke again – "I just wanted to... you know…ask you if you could…?"

"Look after her… I know. I already am." – He finished her sentence. She fell back into silence and he asked. "And who's looking after you, Sofia?"

She sighed – "Alex, please don't start it…"

"You said we were going to work things out… And we're not, obviously."

"This is neither the time nor the best way to talk about that, okay?"

"It never is, Sofia… That's the problem." – He said, in a low tone. "About what you asked me, don't worry, I'll keep an eye on Morgan. Brass already ordered me that."

"Thank you." – She murmured. "Look, now I have to go…"

"Try and see if you can trade shifts with someone, this weekend… I'm driving there on Friday night. I'll ask Vega or O'Riley to cover for me."

"I don't know if I c…"

"That's not under discussion. I'm going there. We have to talk about this." – Vartann interrupted. "I love you, Sofia; I do, very much… But I don't know if we can resist this much longer…"

"Alex…" – She trailed off. "I-I have to go. I'll tell you if I managed to trade my shifts. Goodbye." – She said, before hanging up the phone, not leaving him even a second to speak.

He sighed and walked back to the front steps of the Crime Lab. Morgan was sitting there, she hadn't move since his cell phone had started ringing and he had walked away to answer it. He sat back on her side and noticed that the cigarette on her right hand wasn't the same that had been there five minutes before.

"Another one, Rodriguez?" – He said, stretching his arm to take it off her hand and throw it to the floor. "Are you trying to turn into a smoking factory?"

She looked at him and couldn't avoid a shy smile, for the first time in almost two days – "I can't help it… As I couldn't help but hear a little bit of your conversation with Sofia…" – She confessed, blushing a little.

"Oh, you heard that?"

She nodded, a little embarrassed. "Do you really like her like you said?"

"Yeah... But things have been so hard since she went to Boulder City. We're falling apart."

"Vartann…" – Morgan called, quietly, making him look at her. "Do you really like her?"

He nodded. She put her hand on his shoulder – "Then, fight for her. Don't let her go; do not let her slip through your fingers in a blink of an eye."

He looked at her. "Thanks, Rodriguez…" – He said.

"You're my best friend's boyfriend. If she chose you, it was because you're a good person. These last hours, you made me be sure of that… I'm not good with these kind of things but I wanted to apologize. I know I was always a little _rude_ with you but that's how I am with everybody. And these last couple of hours you proved me wrong and showed me that you're an amazing person. Thanks for being with me…"

"You're my girlfriend's best friend, Rodriguez… You're a little lost and I'm just trying to get you back on track and help you. And you have nothing to apologize for. I am what I am and with you, it's the same. You're very independent and I respect and admire that."

She wasn't expecting the compliment, which made her blush a little more. They were silent for some moments before she got up – "Well, I should go inside and try to help them on something… I've barely worked to try to find Nick…" – She whispered.

He got up and walked her inside. "I don't know, this gotta be really boring for you…" – She started.

"Don't even think about that." – He said, cutting her off before she could say anything further. "I'm not leaving you. Orders are orders. Do you want me to get in trouble with Brass?"

**(Meanwhile, in the Lab's Garage)**

Catherine, Warrick, Greg and Hodges were processing the box where the bog had been buried, hoping to find a lead.

"This has got to be a prototype. It was probably built to test how long he could keep somebody alive inside." – Catherine commented, her eyes scanning every inch of the coffin.

Greg was looking at the under part of it. – "Hey Hodges, hand me a swab, please, would you?"

He did so, sticking his head under the coffin too. He saw the circles that Greg was swabbing and pointed at them – "Now, what are those?"

Greg looked at him, a tired look on his face. "I don't know." – He answered. Hodges stared a little longer at the circles before standing back up.

Warrick looked up from the paper where he had been taking some notes and making some calculations and spoke to no one in particular. "All right… Based on this battery and what's running off of it, and the fact that we kept the damn light on for as long as we did…" – He started. _"And for your damn fault!"_ – He thought to himself, before going on. "… I figure Nick's got another ninety minutes of air left, now…"

Catherine and Greg remained quiet, as they watched him set his watch to countdown from 1h30.

-----

"Got ya!" – Grissom triumphantly announced, as he hit the 'Print' button on the keyboard in front of him. The ant had finally walked right in front of the lens of the web cam, allowing him to get a photo for comparison. Rushing to his office, with the photo in his hand, he headed for his private entomology library and searched through the dozens of books that covered the shelves. He finally pulled down a large book and started flipping throughout the pages, eventually looking at the photo.

Then, he found it. After one last comparison, to be one hundred per cent sure, he sat back a little on the chair. "Solenopsis invicta…" – He murmured.

Reaching for the phone in his desk, he dialled the Reception's extension.

"Alyssa?"

"Yeah, Grissom?"

"Call everyone of my team to the Break Room… NOW!"

"Sure. Already calling…"

"Thanks."

**(On the Break Room, about five minutes later)**

"They're fire ants, very rare in Nevada." – Grissom started explaining, speaking very quickly and walking impatiently around the table where they were all gathered. Archie and Greg were listening to him, attentively, with a big map of the Las Vegas area spread on the table in from of them. "They don't like our soil. The only places you find them around Vegas are in plant and tree nurseries."

He stopped behind Catherine, who was sitting on the computer. She searched for plant and tree nurseries. "There's eleven nurseries in the greater Las Vegas area." – She informed.

Archie leant over the map – "Okay, I've got the web cam trace down to here." – He said, drawing a large circle on the map.

"And the data from the black box in Walter Gordon's truck gave us a 23 mile travel radius." – Greg added, drawing another circle, narrowing down the searching area. Warrick approached the table, analysing the printout of the nurseries' locations.

"Okay, I've got two nurseries within the overlap area. Here…" – He declared, marking the place with an X. "… And here."

They stared at the map for mere seconds until Morgan remembered something. "Wait, wait… wait, wait…" – She called, rubbing her very much tired eyes. "Kelly Gordon... she said something about horticulture, during her interrogation."

"Yeah!" – Sara suddenly recalled it. "The daughter worked with plants. Hold on, hold on…" – She asked, running out of the Break Room to Grissom's office. Once there, she picked up a file from his desk and checked it, quickly. As she found what she was searching for, she closed the file and ran back to the Break Room.

"Guys…" – She called, entering back the room and pointing one of the crosses that had been marked on the map by Warrick. "Nick's here!"

Reaching for the nearest pen, Morgan wrote the address on the palm of her right hand. Then, she dropped the pen on the table and left the Break Room, heading to the parking lot, Warrick right on her heels.

"You drive or should I?" – She asked, not turning to him.

"I'll drive." – He answered, fishing the keys out of his pocket. "I know the way better."

She nodded and they quickly hopped inside the car, and were soon followed by the rest of the team. About a dozen cars joined the CSI team, on their way to the plant nursery, sirens capable of scaring the population of the whole Nevada state, red and blue lights flashing all the way.

Morgan was playing with her hair, twisting it in between her fingers, as Warrick pulled off the road, to a small road on the right. She looked at him, her gaze on his left wrist.

He understood what she wanted. Looking at his watch, he sighed and fixed his eyes back on the road, following the line of cars that was in front of them; not only Police cars but also ambulances and some other private cars. They were almost reaching the nursing… they were almost there.

"_Just a little more, Nick… We're getting there. Hang on a little longer…"_ – She mentally spoke to him, despite knowing perfectly that he couldn't hear her.

"Ten more minutes." – Warrick answered the question that Morgan had mutely asked him, by looking at his watch. The countdown was now ten minutes away from being over.

As soon as Warrick stopped the car behind Grissom's, they both jumped out. The Supervisor was already talking to the owner of the nursery. "You said on the phone you had a fire ant mound. Where is it?" – He asked.

"People usually prefer to stay away from it." – The owner commented.

"You heard the man: where is it?" – Morgan demanded, taking her flashlight out of her pocket and pointing at him

The owner glanced at her and nodded. He took them to the fire ant mound – "Over there."

Grissom stared at the mound for some moments before turning back to his team. "All right, fan out. Look for loose soil." – He instructed, not only for the members under his supervision but also to the amount of Police officers that were there to help them finding the place where Nick was buried. "Anything that might have been dug up recently."

"That's the whole place." – Brass commented, as the crew spread out.

**(Somewhere near them)**

"_Oh my God…"_ – Nick thought. _"Oh my God, oh my God…"_

He was groaning in pain. The bites were becoming more and more difficult to bear, as the time was passing. His face was now covered with ants all over. He had to keep his eyes and mouth wide shut. It was getting harder to breathe inside the coffin.

"_The oxygen must be ending…_" – He said to himself. He had realized long ago that this could happen but he wasn't prepared for it… Hell, he knew he would never be prepared for it. Nick had never thought he would rot, buried alive, at the age of thirty-three. If it had happened about, what, a year before, it would be a little less painful: he wasn't married, he didn't have any kids, he hadn't had the chance to see his newly-born niece… But now, at this time of his life, he had just met his sister's little daughter and there was someone else… Morgan had come to the picture, almost a year before.

It wasn't like they were in an intimate relationship, or anything like that. She was just _special_… very special indeed. And Nick couldn't accept it, Nick would never accept the fact that he was going to run out of oxygen and never get the chance to let her know how special she was for him, how dearly he admired her…

Nick couldn't stand that fact and it was hurting in more than the ant bites altogether.

"_Where the hell are you, guys?"_

**(Somewhere near him)**

Catherine tripped over something and looked down. A vent pipe. Then another one, near the first. She put the tracing unit she was carrying and knelt near the vent pipe. She began scratching around the dirt with her hands. She grabbed a plastic bag with a small video-transmit unit on the inside.

"This is it! I found it! It's here." – She shouted to the others. Everyone who heard her ran there. Morgan, Warrick, Greg, Sara, Grissom and Brass, who were spread all over the adjoining area, ran to the place where Catherine's shouts were coming from. "I found it! This is it!"

She leant forward, approaching her mouth to the vent pipe – "Nick. Nick, we're here. Hang on!" – She screamed to the vent. "Nicky!"

**(Below the place where Catherine stood)**

"_Nicky!"_

Catherine's voice! He must have been in some sort of delusion state, as Nick thought he had heard Catherine's voice calling his name. He groaned harder; his eyes were as they had been sewed to the lower part, closed as shut as the subway doors. His fists were clenched tight as he was struggling against the huge pain the bites were provoking him, to stay as still as possible.

Suddenly, he heard the whirring noise of the vent stop, slowly. The battery was gone. The vent had just stopped and it wasn't going to start working again… ever. There was no more oxygen.

"Oh my God…" – He sighed, heavily. "No… no, no, no…" His right hand was around the service pistol, resting on his abdomen. As he screamed weakly, he started to move his hand up, towards his head. He squirmed around, desperately before pressing the gun against his chin.

"_Come on. Do it, Nick!"_ – He ordered to himself. Never, ever before he had had such an accelerated heartbeat as that moment; never, ever before he had been under such pressure… He kept the gun pressed against his skin but he couldn't bringing himself to pull the damn trigger. _"Come on!"_

The exact moment he had gained the courage to shoot at himself, he heard a muffle. He did not open his eyes immediately. Mere seconds later, he heard a known voice calling him, as someone was knocking on the Plexiglas.

"Hey!" – Warrick called. "We've got you man. Hey, Nicky!"

He opened his eyes then and wiped the blurry condensation inside the coffin. Warrick got to see him that moment. "Put that down. Hey." – He ordered. "We've got you. We're going to get you out of here."

Nick dropped the gun and leaned his head back. Tears streamed down his face – "Oh shit!"

**(Minutes Later)**

They had cleared all the dirt that was still covering the coffin and were about to open the coffin to release Nick when Catherine broke through them and shouted. "Everyone out of the hole. That box is ready to explode!"

"Are you kidding me?" – Warrick asked, exasperated.

"Get out of there NOW!" – She ordered. Brass, Sara and the rest of the officers that were helping Warrick to open the box got up and walked out of the hole. He didn't move.

"I'm not leaving without Nick." – He said.

"There are charges under the box." – Catherine explained. Morgan dropped her flashlight to the ground, in shock. "Oh my God!"

"I'm not leaving here without him!" – Warrick repeated. Grissom turned around and saw a backhoe nearby. He thought for a flash of a second before turning down to the hole. "Warrick, Catherine's right. Get out of the hole now. I know what we're going to do. Just trust me." – He said, calmly but firmly.

Warrick looked at him and hesitated a few seconds before releasing the coffin cover and stepping out of the hole. Grissom turned to the crew and shout out instructions to the officers – "We need 200 pounds of dirt over here right now, and we're going to use that backhoe to get it." – He ordered, pointing to the machine he had found out, and the officers ran there. He look down at the hole once again and Grissom could see Nick tapping on the Plexiglas, desperate to get out of there and not knowing why everyone was going away.

Morgan was also seeing the same thing. Nick was screaming frantically, begging for help. He was losing it and she couldn't stay over there, as the others and just watch him like that. She took a step forward and was about to jump into the hole, when Greg gripped her by her waist. "Stay here." – He murmured to her ear.

"Sanders, I can't see him like that…" – She said, weakly trying to break free of his hold. Her eyes were fixed on his fear and then she saw Grissom jumping into the hole and trying to calm Nick, explaining him the situation.

"It's better this way." – Greg told her. When he realized she wouldn't move, he tranquilly released his grip on her waist and stood by her side as they saw the officers bring the backhoe.

Some minutes later, an explosion echoed in the whole nursery area, as they pulled Nick out of the coffin. He landed hard on the ground, his eyes closed and his body shaking uncontrollably. Warrick passed by Grissom and ran there.

"You're alive, man." – He whispered, approaching his friend. "We're taking you to the hospital. Everything's over now, Nicky… We've got you, buddy…"


	24. Chapter 24: How to Save a Life

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episode 'Grave Danger' isn't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

_**jenn - **Well, with Nick out of the hole, we don't know what's going to happen between him and Morgan. Actually, I do know, but you don't. You have to keep reading (and reviewing) -smiles- to find out._

_**EmSyd - **Thanks. Here's some more. I hope you like it too._

**A/N:** Okay people. I never thought this could happen. I've officially wrote over 50,000 words for this story and it's still a bit away from the end. This is HUGE for me. Thanks for reading it. I've been working on it very hard and I'm glad that I have a few readers that are enjoying the story as much as I am. Oh, and by the way, I'm sorry for this chapter being so short... School's been taking a lot of time and inspiration. I'm sorry.

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter 24**

Warrick and Catherine went in the ambulance with Nick, as the paramedics were taking him to the hospital. Morgan took Warrick's car keys and drove right behind the ambulance.

She parked the car near Desert Palms' ER entrance and hurried inside. She saw Warrick and Catherine standing at the Reception, talking with the girl behind the desk.

"I'm sorry, Sir, but you can't go inside." – The young girl was saying. "Hospital rules. You'll have to wait here until the doctor who's in charge of your friend comes to see you."

Warrick was about to protest but Catherine cut him off. "Okay, we'll wait here. Thanks." – She said, to the girl, who smiled briefly back at her.

"So…" – Morgan started, approaching them.

"They've taken him inside but we have to stay out, until the doctor comes see us." – Warrick informed her and suggested - "We should go to the Waiting Room then…"

"And Nick's parents?" – Catherine remembered, as they sat down. She still had the image of the desperation and the angst in the eyes of Nick's mother, Jillian, when they had been forced to show her the web cam transmission.

"Grissom and the others are on their way here too and he said that he was going to call Nick's parents at the hotel they are staying. I think he's going to tell them to come here." – Morgan said, playing with Warrick's car keys on her hands.

They waited for another twenty minutes before a doctor appeared in the Waiting Room. "Are you with Nick Stokes?" – He asked. He had seen Morgan's ID hanging on her studded belt and he knew that Nick was the CSI that had been reported missing all over the news, so he just connected both.

They stood up. Greg and Sara entered the room that moment, soon followed by Grissom. "Yes. We work with Nick at the Crime Lab." – Catherine spoke. "I'm his active supervisor, Catherine Willows."

The doctor held his hand out to her – "Dominic Rudess." – He introduced. "Nice to meet you. And forgive me for asking, but aren't his relatives here?"

"Nick's parents are on their way." – Grissom answered. "I've already called them; they should be here any minute. How is he?"

"Well, he doesn't have any physical serious injury other than the numerous ant bites. Those are already under treatment and we're thinking positively: once not infected, they will hopefully heal soon and leaving no mark at all." – He explained. "However, Mr. Stokes is evidently very affected by this situation. We did our best to try to calm him without having to sedate him, but we couldn't… He was very agitated and nervous and we had to give him a weak tranquillizer that will keep him asleep for the next couple of hours."

"Was it really necessary?" – Sara asked. She knew how much Nick hated being put asleep.

"Unfortunately yes. The way that Mr. Stokes was refusing treatment forced us to do it." – Dr. Rudess said. "But I can assure you that it is very weak and he will be awake again soon."

"Thank you Doctor." – Catherine said. Morgan stepped forward – "Can we see him?"

"Of course. Hospital policy says that only two people at the same time are allowed in the patients' room. I just have to ask you to try not to wake him: he hasn't slept in two days or something and after this experience, he really must rest. Other than that, you can see him, no problem with that."

Morgan nodded. The doctor left them and she turned to the others. "I'll stay with him tonight."

"You're tired, you should go home and sleep…" – Catherine suggested, softly.

"I'm staying." – She insisted. "You go see him first. I'll go smoke to the outside and then, I'll get a coffee. When you're done, I'll stay with him."

She entered Nick's room a while later. He was lying on the bed, his eyes closed, and he appeared to be sleeping peacefully. She knew it was thanks to the tranquilizer, that had taken him into a world with no nightmares about what he had just lived. She approached him, her eyes fixed on the amount of bites that covered his arms, his hands, his neck, his face…

"_Oh my God…"_ – She thought to herself, as her hand approached his fingers. She caressed them, as if she was making sure he was still there, still alive. She bent forward and delivered a brief kiss on his forehead.Then, she stepped back and sat on the armchair that was on left side of the bed. She pushed her legs up to her chest and leaned her head back. Within minutes, Morgan had fallen asleep, her body finally giving up to all the stress, all the emotions and all the pressure she had been through the last couple of days.

Catherine brought Nick's parents to his room, a while after. They ran to their son, however being careful not to wake him, as the doctor had recommended. Bill Stokes, Nick's father, turned around and noticed Morgan's presence. She was still sleeping, she hadn't waken up when they had entered the room, but she seemed to be freezing. Her body was curled up, her skin all chilled. He touched his wife's arm and pointed in Morgan's direction.

"Who is she?" – Jillian asked Catherine, who had stayed at the doorway.

"Her name is Morgan. She's one of us." – Catherine answered.

"Already? She looks so young…" – She commented, surprised with the girl's presence in the room.

"She's twenty-two years old and she's been Nick's housemate for eight, nine months now…" – Catherine explained. "She insisted to stay with him tonight and none of us was able to demote her from that idea. She's very stubborn."

Jillian smiled and shared a glance with her husband. She grabbed the blanket that rested on the back of the armchair and, carefully, trying not to wake the young girl, she covered her trembling body with it, tenderly.

Then, she motioned for her husband to leave the room and they met Catherine on the hallway. "Nicky's in good hands here and he has someone that's watching over him." – She stated. "Maybe it was better if we went back to our hotel and came back in the morning." – She suggested.

Nick's father looked at her quizzically. "Are you sure that's for the best?" – He questioned. "We should stay with him."

"She's staying with him…" – Jillian said, pointing to Morgan's sleeping form on the armchair. "And I feel that our son is in good hands."

Catherine smiled, knowing that Nick would be happy to hear his mother talking of Morgan that way. "If you allow me to comment, Sir, I agree with Mrs. Stokes. Nick will probably only be awake in the morning and the girl that is staying with him is worthy of the trust that your wife is giving her. And there will be also doctors and nurses watching over him."

Bill held his hands up in a defeat sign. "Okay, okay... If you really think it's for the best, we'll go back to the hotel." – He said. Jillian smiled and held his hand. "Our Nicky's with us again, Bill… Everything's fine again now."

**(A couple of hours later)**

Nick began to move around on the bed, hastily, groaning and his groans woke up Morgan. She got puzzled for a while, as always happened with her when she was woken up that way, not knowing where she was. When she remembered that she was on a hospital room, her mind started questioning where the blanket that was covering her had come from.

Hearing him groan again made her look at the bed. _"The tranquilizer's effect must be passing…"_ – She thought to herself, getting up and approaching him. "Nick…" – She called softly. As he kept squirming around, scared, she shook him a little – "Nick… Nick, wake up."

He finally opened his eyes and sat up, abruptly, his breathing all fastened up. Morgan jumped back, as she wasn't expecting his sudden hop. He looked at her for a moment, confused and disoriented. "Morgan?"

"Nick… hey."

"Where am I?" – He asked, looking around. He noticed the IV on his arm. "Am I at…?"

"We're at Desert Palms, Nick." – She answered, sitting by the bed, near him. "The paramedics brought you here after…" – She trailed off. His eyes opened wide, as if he was, little by little, recalling everything he had lived and suffered for over the last 24 hours.

"Oh my…" – He sighed. "No, no, no…" - Nick closed his eyes tight, trying to erase those images from his memory, those awfully, breathtaking images that were making him remember all that had happened. Tears formed on his eyes and slowly started to fall down his face.

"Hey…" – Morgan called. As he didn't move, she crawled closer to him and just wrapped her arms around his shaken body, wordlessly. She stroked the back of his neck, her arms tightly wrapped around him. Nick let himself being comforted by her affection and started to calm down a little after a few minutes.

"Hey… Everything's fine now." – She said softly. "I'm here with you, Nicky… You'll be fine."

"I-I..." – He started but trailed off mid-sentence. Morgan pulled back and put her hands on his face. "Schh… Don't think about it, Nicky." – She said, wiping his tears away with her thumbs. "It's over now… It's all over."

She brought her lips up to his forehead and kissed him, gently. "I'm here with you…okay?" - She asked, looking deep into his eyes. "I'm here."

He nodded and leaned his head on her shoulder. "You'll be fine. I promise." – She said, tenderly running her fingers up and down his arm.

"_I hope you'll be fine__... but I don't know."_ – She thought to herself. The repercussions that this experience was going to have on Nick's demeanour… well, on is whole life, were still unknown and unexpected.

"Why me?" – He asked, after a while. That was the main question that had been haunting him all this time. Why had it been him? Why not someone else?

Morgan took a deep breath – "I don't know, Nick… It wasn't exactly against you. Walter Gordon wanted to attack the Lab and he decided to strike where it was going to hurt the most, so he took one of us."

"But you know what?" – She questioned, pulling his head up. "We can discuss that later, right? Now, all that matters is that we've got you and that you're safe."

He looked at her and she hugged him again. "Thanks for being here with me, Morgan…"

"You're welcome, Nicky…" – She said back. He felt a cold chill running up his spine just at the sound of Morgan's voice calling him 'Nicky', something she had never done before. "I'm so glad that you're safe…" – She whispered.


	25. Chapter 25: Angel Song

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episode 'Grave Danger' isn't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

_**EmSyd - **Thank.s Here's some more. Sorry for the long delay._

_**jenn - **Thanks. I hope you like this too. Sorry for the long delay._

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter 25**

"It's been three weeks and he's still not getting out, Sofia." – Morgan said to the phone, entering the locker room. "He barely talks to me anymore either."

She was getting a little desperate. Nick would refuse to see the Lab's psychologist, which Morgan could understand, but he was, at the same time, closing all his doors to the rest of the world. He had signed for a three week-work leave and had spent almost every day of the three weeks that had already passed since his ordeal at home. When Morgan woke up, he would be there. When she left for work, he would be there. When she got home from work, he would be there. During the night, he would wake up time and time again. He was driving insane.

And he wasn't talking to her. Well, not _talking_, but they had been arguing pretty badly the last couple of days.

"I'm worried about him."

"You got to give him some space, Rodriguez..."

"I'm giving him all the space in the world. He came out with this idea of going to visit Gordon's daughter last night… I tried to get that crazy thought out of his head, but he's stubborn!"

"But why does he want to see her?"

"Ask him! I haven't figured that out yet either…" – Morgan commented, recalling the fight they had had the previous night.

_(Flashback)_

_Morgan closed the door behind her and threw her bag to the nearest chair along with her keys. She took of her jacket and threw it as well. She headed to the kitchen to prepare herself some hot chocolate, the drink that had always had the gift of calming her. It had become a habit, something she would try to do everyday: drink a mug of hot chocolate before going to bed. It made her nights much easier to bear._

_Carrying the mug on her hands, she was going to her room and noticed a weak light on Nick's room. She decided to go there and turned around, walking to his room instead._

_She knocked on the door and opened it after his allowance. "Hey." – She greeted, sticking her head on the door. "May I?"_

"_Sure." – He answered. She entered the room and closed the door behind her, drinking a bit of the soft mixture of hot chocolate and a bit of sugar that she had just prepared to herself. "I thought you'd be asleep. It's late, Nick."_

"_I can't sleep." – He muttered, turning the page abruptly and not even looking at her. She sighed. "Nick…"_

"_What?"_

"_You can't go on like this." – She started, sitting by the bed. "You don't sleep, you barely eat, you're living almost locked inside these four walls. This is going to kill you; you have to get over it…"_

_He ignored her. She was starting to get used to it but that didn't mean she accept this attitude. She just… __**tolerated**__ it because what he had lived had been really hard and well, because he was Nick._

"_Have you considered going to see the Psychologist of the Department yet?" – She asked._

"_No," was his dry answer. She was going to say something when he spoke again, revealing one idea of his that he had had during the past night. "I decided to go see Kelly Gordon in a couple of days."_

"_You're… what?" – She questioned. Her first instinct had been to shout at him if he was getting crazy but due to the circumstances, she had controlled herself instead. _

"_I decided __to go see Kelly Gordon in a couple of days." – He repeated, his face and voice blank of any expression._

"_Do you think that's reasonable?" – She asked. "I mean… why the hell would you want to see her anyway? She didn't know anything about what Walter was planning to do. Do you really think that's wise and it's going to make you any good?"_

"_Excuse-me Morgan, but the way I decide to live my life, the one that almost got stolen away from me three weeks ago, it's none of your damn business." – He snapped, in a low tone, peacefully continuing to read his book, as if he hadn't just snapped at her._

_She just looked at him, shock and surprise all over her face; stress and frenzy all over her body, boiling on her blood. Then, wordlessly, she got up and walked out of his room, like a robot, closing the door harshly behind her._

_(End of Flashback)_

"So you simply left?"

"No, I stuck around for him to snap at me a little more…" – Morgan answered, ironically. "Of course I left… I wasn't going to stay there and listen to him going stupid like that. I may tolerate him a lot of stuff because of all that happened, but I'm not a masochist…"

"Right, right… sorry. Why did he snap at you that way?"

"I don't know. And I don't care, anyways… We've been arguing like hell lately. He's just closed to the rest of the world. I don't know if it's just with me or if it is with everyone else… I'm losing my patience, Sofia." – She confessed.

"It's got to be something with everyone else. Why would he just pick you to snap and be all-aggressive at? It doesn't make sense… He's just disturbed. You got to give him some time and space…"

"If you were in my place, you'd think twice before saying that, Curtis…" – Morgan said, putting down her bag and opening her locker with her free hand. "Now, I have to go to work… talk to you later."

"Take it easy, Rodriguez…" – Sofia advised.

"I am... but I don't know if I can hang on this 'nice Morgan' role for much longer…"

**(The**** Next Evening)**

Nick heard a little noise coming from Morgan's room when he got home from a brief walk he had decided to take. Figuring she should be leaving in some minutes, he thought this would be the best time to try to solve things out. The last couple of days had been awful, since she had barely spoke to him, making him feel even more alone and lost than usual, since that terrifying day.

"_Who can blame her anyway?"_ – He said to himself. Hadn't he been the one to snap at her?

He gained some courage to face her before knocking briefly on the door of her room. She apparently didn't hear him, as he understood that the music could be a little loud. He opened the door and peeped inside. Nick saw her sitting at her bed, her back against the wall, looking at something she had on her hands. She seemed much focused on whatever it was and with the music coming from the sound system on her side, she hadn't noticed him yet. He took a moment to pay attention to the music: the voice seemed so familiar. It was a boy and a girl, singing some song he had never heard before. It had to be an acoustic version, since the sound of all the instruments was not totally aligned.

"May I?" – Nick asked, after a few minutes during which his attention had been caught up by the chemistry that flown between the boy and the girl that were singing. Despite being only hearing the voices, he could understand that they worked greatly together, as a duet, and seemed to be more than just partners, since the passion that they expressed seemed to connect them both very strongly.

She looked up from the picture and he could see some angst on her eyes. However, she tried to disguise it. "Oh. Yeah, sure…" – She answered, distantly, hurrying to turn the picture around and put it down on her bedside table. She turned down the music's volume too and sat back up straight on the bed, as he approached her.

"I… hmm… I have to…" – Nick started, a little fearlessly. He had noticed a big backpack set, resting near the end of the bed.

"Do you want me to go somewhere and leave you here alone for a couple of days?" – She questioned, cutting him off. "Do you want me to move out?"

"What?" – He asked, caught in surprise by her question. "No!"

"I mean… Nick, I understand that you need some space, you're affected, and all that stuff. Nevertheless, what I don't understand and what I won't be able to handle much longer is your refuse to fight and get over what happened. I can't watch someone destroying himself that way… I'm sorry, but I can't do that. So, I already have some stuff packed and I've talked to Sofia… I can stay at her apartment for a while, until you get yourself together again or until I find one of my own… which I've been postponing for a quite a while, more than I should have."

"No… wait, I don't want to you to move out…" – Nick murmured, a little stunned about what she had just said. "I… I need you here, Morgan."

She sighed and got up, walking to the place where he stood, not moving even a cell. "Nick, you've been snapping at me for nothing, you don't let me help you and now you want to go see that psycho… I don't know what to do. I want to help you, I can't stand seeing you this way, but I don't know what to do. And maybe it's better if I leave you alone for some time, for you to decide and handle things on your own."

"Please... don't." – He started. "I can't handle things on my own… I just… can't."

"Why do you want to see Gordon's daughter?" – She asked, looking deep into his eyes.

"I don't know. That's something I'll only find out when I get there." – He answered, sincerely. Nick really didn't know why he wanted to visit Kelly Gordon or what he was going to say to her if she agreed to see him. It was just something he felt he had to do. "There's something inside of me, screaming for me to see her… I have so many questions Morgan; so many questions without an answer."

"Life's like that, Nicky." – She said, walking closer to him and briefly pressing her lips against his forehead. "Sometimes, we spend years asking ourselves old questions, time and time again, for which we'll never get an answer…" – She passed her hand through his hair and then touched his cheek, caressing it for a moment. "I'll drive you there, tomorrow."

He looked at her, confused. "You're coming with me?"

"Be ready when I come back from work… There was no way in Hell I'd let you go there alone. I'm going with you." – She said, firmly, in a confident way that made a little smile appear on his lips. "Now I have to go to the Lab… Call me if you need anything, okay?"

Nick nodded. She turned to reach for her leather jacket and, with a last brief caress on his shoulder, she was gone. Nick noticed that she hadn't remembered to turn off the music, so he walked to her bedside table to unplug the sound system. Then, he saw the picture she was looking at when he had entered the room.

Unable to control his curiosity, he picked up the picture and read what as written on the back. _"Jordan, LJ, Tommy, Lynn and Michael"_ were the names that someone had written, with a black pen. Then, there was a date, the same date that Nick had already seen on the tattoo that crossed Morgan's right arm, below the scar. _"July 21__st__ 2001."_

"What the hell happened in this date?" – He wondered, as he turned the picture around, to see a group of five teenagers smiling at him. From left to right, he saw three guys, the first one holding a bass guitar and the third one, the one who was right on Morgan's side, holding a pair of drumsticks. On the right side of the picture, next to the person holding the drumsticks, there was Morgan and another guy. He had a messy dark brown hair, that reached his shoulders and his eyes were green. His right arm was confidently around Morgan's waist as her left was around his neck. They seemed close to each other, very close indeed.

Something caught Nick's attention. In the back of the picture, there was a stage prepared for a concert, with all the instruments: two electrical guitars, a drum set, a keyboard and an empty spot, he assumed for the bass guitar the guy on the left was holding.

That moment, Nick realized that it wasn't just a picture of a group of five teenage friends, hanging out in a bar. He noticed how happy she looked in the picture, her smile wide open like he had never seen before. She didn't have any angst in her eyes. There was no sign of hurt or pain or anything. She was different. She looked young and relaxed… and most of all, happy. She was wearing a green spaghetti strapped top and there was no scar at all in her shoulder, neither was there any tattoo.

Then, it hit him. The words that were being sung by those two voices while he was looking at that picture made him realize what it meant. Made him understand whose voice it was, who was singing that song.

_I guess I was trying to keep me alive  
But once I was dead there was nothing to do beside  
Picking me up and lying me down  
Waiting for some angel  
To wake me and say to me  
"Hello. Don't be scared. I want you to know, you're not dead." _

Kiss me, is this a dream?  
Should I believe it?  
Please promise to me that I'm not going to get hurt this time. 

_Am I real? Are you real? Is this real? What's real?  
Am I real? Are you real? __Is this real?_

_Tell me, what's real?_

"You had a band… and they were like a part of your family." – He said, quietly, to himself. "What the hell happened on this date that made you leave everything behind and come to Vegas?"

**A/N:** I apologize for the long delay, but since I started working, I've been barely having time to write. I have to balance school and work and writing this has become difficult. But I'll try my best to update it. I promise. Oh! And I have to add something to the **'Disclaimer'** note: the words in italic, the lyrics for the song that was playing in this scene, don't belong to me. The song's called '**Angel Song'** and belongs to **Silence 4**, a portuguese band that is already extinct. I used them because I really like them and this song in particular. No profit intended! Anyways, I'll explain the meaning of those lyrics later on. Stay tuned!

**A/N2:** Merry Christmas to you all:) And a Happy New Year!


	26. Chapter 26: Look After You

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episode 'Grave Danger' isn't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

_**Arwennicole - **Thanks. Here's next chapter._

_**EmSyd - **Thanks. Glad you liked it._

_**Phantom Rogue - **Hey. Nice to see you over here again -smiles-. I'm really happy that you like it. Here's some more. Hope it keeps you interested._

_**Samsara Dallire - **Oh yeah, he is! But that's actually kind of good for me. It makes them grow closer. Thanks for the compliment, hope you still like it._

_**curlytopkristi - **Hmmm... okay. Here it is._

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter 26**

Morgan stopped the car and turned the ignition off. She set her sunglasses on the top of her head and looked at Nick. "I'll wait here for you, okay?"

He got free of the seatbelt and nodded. "Okay. It won't take long, I guess…"

"Hey..." – She reached for his hand. "I'll wait." – She repeated, squeezing his hand, trying to transmit him some strength. "If she starts to mess around, you forget this and we go home okay?"

He smiled briefly; a smile that still couldn't erase the sad and tired expression that had been on his face since the kidnapping. "I'll be right back." – He said, getting out of the car and heading to the front door of the Women's Correctional Facility. Morgan watched him enter the building where the Visitor's room was located and took a deep breath, sliding down her sunglasses back to cover her eyes, trying to hide the signs of two nights without sleeping. She removed the keys from the ignition and, reaching for her phone and pager, exited the car. She headed to the little office where the guards stood, hoping she could get some coffee while waiting for Nick.

Five minutes later, as she was walking back to the SUV, a plastic cup filled up with coffee on her hand, her phone started ringing. Fishing it out of her pocket, she read the caller ID on the screen and let out a bored sigh. "Yeah, Hodges…"

"Morning sunshine." – Hodges' voice sounded on the other side of the line.

"I'm already off the clock man, what do you want?" – She asked, sipping her coffee.

"Babycakes, aren't you the one working the case of the hit and run in Henderson?" – He asked, his cheery voice maddening her more than usual. "But maybe you prefer me to reveal my great and very important discovery to Greg… One rookie or another, doesn't matter to m--"

"What do you have for me?" – She asked; her tone impatient, cutting off his ramblings.

"The paint sample you brought me that had been taken off the victim is Nevada Blue, only used by Mercedes-Benz." – He said. "The models in which this colour was used were only commercialized between 86 and 88."

"Uh, I see… anything else?"

"Well, you're welcome, I'm glad that my hard work was able to satisfy you, my dear." – He teased. "I'll have my report done when you pull in again."

"You better…Anything else, Hodges?" – She insisted.

He made a sound, which seemed an annoyed groan. "Wendy was some results on the samples you took from under Chelsea Riley's fingernails."

"Finally you say something nice to me." – She mocked. "Thank you. I'll pay a little visit to your Lab when I pull in again. Report the information about the paint transfer to Greg, if he's still there, for him to work on it, to see if he can get us anyone fitting as a suspect…"

"I guess he's still around here somewhere, but me telling him your order, will cost, ih let me see … you letting me buy you breakfast sometime?"

"Don't push your luck, Hodges!" – Morgan advised. "I'm not in a good mood, I haven't slept yet… You better tell Greg what I asked, or you will regret it… _very much_."

Hodges coughed. "Okay, don't need to get pissy, honey…"

"And I've told you not to call me 'honey', or 'sunshine' or whatever!" – She snapped. "Now I have to call Wendy, I'm very sorry to leave you talking to yourself. But what else is new? See ya later, Hodges." – She said and hung up.

"Well, he's not that bad, but I have to keep the distance… If you give him a little space, he crosses the line…" – She spoke to herself, dialling Wendy's number. The new DNA tech was a very nice and efficient girl. _"I hope she has something good for me…"_

"Hey Wendy. It's Morgan."

"Oh, hey. Hodges told you I had something on your case?"

"Yeah. I can't go back to the Lab right now, but I'm going there as soon as I can. What have you got?"

"The samples you took from under the victim's fingernails were all skin from the same person. She must have had a fight with someone, shortly before have gotten hit by the car."

"Male or female?"

"It was the same male DNA in all three samples. I ran it through CODIS, got a match."

"Great, great… look, let me just call Brass, to see who's the detective that's going to work with me and Greg on this case, and I'll ask him to work on it. Meanwhile, could you do me a big favour?"

"Sure. What can I do for you?"

"Hodges told me that Greg is still around there… I don't know exactly when I'm going to be able to go to the Lab, or if I will only make it in time for my shift to start…" – She started, looking around. There was no sign of Nick coming back yet. _"It's still early, Lynn, it may take him a while more…"_ – She thought to herself. "So could you please page Greg and explain your results to him? That way, he could start working with the detective, trying to get a warrant for the guy's house, bringing him in for interrogation, stuff like that, while I'm out…"

"Oh okay. I'll do that, don't worry."

"You sure you don't mind? I don't want to make you my messenger."

"It's okay, Morgan. I guess he's in the Break Room now. I'll go check on that."

"Thanks a lot Wendy." – Morgan said, with relief on her voice. "I owe you one. And good job on the skin samples."

"Thank you and you're welcome." – Wendy said, with a nice tone. "See ya later."

"See you. And thanks once again." – She repeated before hanging up the phone. _"My God, couldn't they have chosen another day to need me this much?"_ - She asked herself. She got inside the car and took another sip of her coffee before paging Brass. Mere seconds later, he was calling her cell.

"Captain. Good morning."

"Thought you'd be asleep by now, Rodriguez. Don't you ever?" – He asked, the same teasing tone as always.

"I wish, Jim, I wish… I just needed to know who's assigned to work on the hit and run case, from Henderson… I have a potential suspect that needs to be investigated. I'm not on the Lab right now, but I needed to know, for Greg to work with the Detective, trying to move a bit forward on the case, until I'm back." – She explained.

"Oh right. Vartann's on that case. Wasn't he the one who was at the scene with you guys last night?"

"When I pulled in, the body was already with Doc Robbins." – She informed. "Thanks for the information. I'll talk to Vartann so that he meets up with Greg."

"You were supposed to be out of work until tonight, you know that, right?"

"Yeah, I know that Captain, but with Nick out, we've been short handed. I have to hang up now, I'll talk to you later. Thanks once again, Captain."

"You're welcome Rodriguez. I'll tell Vartann to meet up with Greg, don't worry about that. Talk to you later." – And with that, Brass hung up. Morgan put down the phone on the empty seat next to hear and leaned her head back, after taking another sip of the coffee. _"If that phone rings one more time…"_

Just as she was thinking that, the phone screamed to have her attention again. In the screen, she could read 'G. Sanders'. "Oh damn…" – She sighed, picking it up. "Hey Greggo."

"What the hell, Rodriguez? You're sending Wendy and Hodges to give me orders? Hodges?!?!" – Greg asked, an infuriated tone on his voice that made Morgan smile for the first time that morning.

"Suck it up, honey. If I have to deal with him calling me off the clock, you have to deal with him too… Too bad you were still on the Lab." – She teased.

"Just because you're a Level 2… It's not fair." – He complained.

She laughed. "Stop whining, Sanders. We're lucky. Vartann's on our case. Go meet him and see if you can bring the suspect in for interrogation. I'll be there as soon as I can. Keep me posted, would you?"

"The day that I reach the same CSI Level as you… you're doomed, Morgan."

"Keep dreaming, Greggo… just keep dreaming." – She answered, with a grin, drinking the rest of the coffee.

**(Inside the Correctional Facility, at the Visitor's Room)**

"You the one?" – Kelly Gordon asked the man sitting in front of her. He had to be. Otherwise, why would he come visit her? She had lost her mother, when she was a kid, and three weeks before, she had lost her father too. There was no more family. All the 'friends' she supposedly had had vanished when she had been arrested. There was just him. And what the hell was he doing here anyways?

"Yeah… yeah, back at you." – He answered.

"What do you want me to say? I'm sorry?"- She asked, sharply and dryly.

"No, you didn't do anything to me. And what your dad did, I... I guess it's because he loves you so much…" – He started but she didn't listen anything further. At the mention of her father, she just hung up the phone, leaving him talking to himself.

He called her. "Kelly… Kelly, pick it up." – He asked. She noticed that he was barely holding himself together. She admired him a little, despite not being brave enough to admit it to herself. After all he had been through; the man had got the guts and the madness to come look for her. _"Why?" _– She kept wondering. _"Why is he here?"_

She picked up the phone again and he leant slightly forward. "In a few years, when you get out of here… don't take it with you."

She swallowed the lump on her throat, before asking, her voice betraying the iron mask she was trying to maintain. "That's it?"

"Yeah… that's it." – He said, after looking deep into her eyes for a moment, a look that disturbed her. However, she tried to remain expressionless and turned to the guard on her side.

"We're done." – She concluded, getting up for the guard to lead her back to her cell.

**(Back on the outside)**

Having closed her eyes for a second, Morgan heard a noise, coming from the same side where the door of the building Nick had entered some minutes before was. She opened her eyes and looked at the place. She saw him walking slowly, hands on his pockets and gaze locked to the floor. She quickly opened the door and got out of the SUV.

"Nick…" – She called, approaching him. Under the sunlight, she could see his expression more clearly than ever: his laugh lines were deeper; he looked much older now, much older than his years. His eyes were fearful and filled with angst, his muscled body seemed so fragile and thin. He was a total shadow of the man she had met and been living with for about ten months. _"This is so wrong, you didn't deserve any of this…"_ – She said to herself. That was a thought she had repeated several times the past weeks. Nick didn't deserve any of what had happened to him. No one, or too many people deserved it, but he wasn't one of them. _"I just do hope this helped you…" – _She wished. "Nick."

He looked up to her, noticing her presence near him for the first time. His eyes were fixed on hers for what seemed an eternity, however he stood wordless. "You okay?" – She asked, finally.

"We're done." – He murmured, shrugging his shoulders, hands still on his pockets, fighting not to give up to emotion and let his fear take over in front of her. "That was it, we're done."

Nevertheless his effort was worthless and he gave in. She saw tears threatening to fall down his face as he leant it down, quickly. "Hey…" – She said, walking closer and wrapping her arms around his neck. "It's over, Nicky… You don't have to be scared, I'm here with you."

"But I am… I'm still so scared, Morgan." – He whispered to her shoulder. "It's like I'm still there. Still trapp…" – He trailed off before he could finish the sentence.

"But you're not anymore, Nicky, and you're not alone. I'm here with you and I'm not going anywhere…" – She stated, caressing the back of his neck. "I'm not going anywhere."

**(Later, down at the Police Station)**

"Judy…" – Morgan started, quickly passing through the reception. "Which room?"

"Third one, on the left. They have been waiting for you, Morgan. Greg's been bugging, I guess the guy's complaining about being here without a lawyer and not even being interrogated yet. They've been there, waiting, for about 20 minutes."

"Dammit!" – She cursed, as she began running to the room she had been indicated. "Thanks Jud." – She shouted, on the way. Greg and Vartann were waiting for her on the outside; the CSI nervously pacing back and forth.

"Where on Earth have you been?" – He questioned.

"I had a thing to do." – She answered, concisely. "Shall we start, before the guy decides to sue us?"

"Sure." – Vartann said, opening the door. "Hi there again, Hank." – He greeted the man that was sitting by the table. "I have some friends that want to make you some questions, okay? These are CSI Sanders and Rodriguez."

"Where were you, last night, between eleven and one a.m.?" – Greg started, sitting by the table, in front of the suspect, and opening the file, while Morgan remained on foot, randomly walking around the room, as she always did.

"What is that of your business, man?"

Morgan smiled, ironically. "Oh look Greg, seems our friend Hank here doesn't feel like cooperating…" – She said, leaning forward and staying at the same level as the man, making eye contact. "Maybe you should repeat the question…"

"Or maybe you should ask me instead… cutie one." – Hank suggested, with a lustful tone on his voice.

"Oh shit…" – Greg murmured. _"Now, he screwed it all."_ – He thought, as he exchanged a quick glance with Vartann. The Detective's lips were twisted in what seemed to be a contrived smile. He knew exactly what Morgan was going to do next.

"Oh really? You want me to ask you?" – She asked, still grinning at the guy, while her arm went up behind him. "Okay then…" – She agreed. Then, she smoothly grabbed a handful of his hair and pinned his face against the table, hard. "What about me asking how you got that scratch on your neck?" – She suggested, as Hank winced in pain.

"I ain't telling you anything, you bitch!" – He shouted, as she let go of his hair. "I want a lawyer! And you can count on a civil suit!"

"Oh really? Little Hank's not telling anything?" – She teased, walking around the table, and showing him her left hand. "Don't worry, _baby_… your hair will tell me everything I need." – She said, dropping the hairs she had pulled from him to an envelope. "And let's see if you'll be worried about filling a civil suit against me… when you're in jail."

With this, she turned on her heels and left the room, Greg soon after her. "My God, you really are scary in an Interrogation Room."

"He's a killer, Greggo… I just treated him like one." - She stated, looking at him, with a shy grin on her lips. "I need a cigarrete."

_---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_Reviews are very much welcomed :)_


	27. Chapter 27: Feeling This

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episode 'Grave Danger' isn't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

_**jenn - **Thank you. Here's another chapter. I don't know when I will be able to update again. I'm starting a bad time at school. Hope you enjoy this one._

_**EmSyd - **Thank you. Here's more._

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter ****27**

As Morgan was smoking, on the outside of the Police Station, headphones on her ears and Blink-182's song 'Feeling This' taking over her head and dragging her thoughts away from that place, back to her teenage years in her hometown, she tried to get free of the tension that had built up inside her by seeing Nick shattered that way.. Closing her eyes, she was taken back to a stage, where a group of friends was playing that same song.

_(Flashback)_

"_You sure you want to play 'Feeling This' before 'Angel'?" – Jordan__ asked Michael. He fixed his green eyes on him for a moment and caressed the strings of his beloved guitar, pondering._

"_I don't know… it was just a suggestion." – He answered, looking at the others. "What do you guys think?"_

"_For me, it's a good idea.__ Since I don't play, I just sing in 'Feeling This', we could take a little pause before 'Angel', for me to go get the acoustic guitar, and we go on from there until the end." – Morgan said, sitting on the stage floor in front of him._

_He stretched his arm to her and caressed her hair, smiling. "So, let's go through 'Feeling This'?"_

"_Sure." – She answered and got up. "Tommy, my man… Hit that drum set like only you know."_

_Tommy smiled and sat down, hitting the drumsticks twice against each other before starting to play the song. Seconds later, Michael and LJ's guitars and Jordan's bass were joining him, along with Morgan's voice._

"_Fate fell short this time, your smile fades in the Summer. Place your hand in mine, I'll leave when I wanna."_

_(End of Flashback)_

"_We really were a hell of a group."_ – She thought to herself, blowing the smoke away. _"Forget that, Lynn… it was almost four years ago. Leave that."_

She changed the song and dropped the cigarette to the floor, smashing it with her foot. Just as she was blowing the last smoking breath away, the doors of the Station opened and Vartann walked to the outside.

"Rodriguez…" – He called. "I figured you'd be here."

"Greg went to drop the hairs on the Lab and I told him to go home after that. I'm waiting for the results." – She answered, putting her Creative Zen on her jacket's pocket and taking her sunglasses off. "I'll be going back to the Lab in a while, don't worry; I won't screw things up again soon."

Vartann smiled and leaned against the wall on her right side. "I need to talk to you... About that."

She turned her head to him. "Yeah… sure, shoot. I'm listening."

"What happened inside that Interrogation Room earlier…" – He started. "I liked it, I swear I admire you for doing it, I wanted to do it too, but you've got to control yourself more, Morgan."

"Oh… that." – She murmured, smiling.

"The Sheriff's been very tight about rules. He doesn't want us to be forced to release suspects of custody because of bad procedures during their detentions and interrogations. And what you did inside, Rodriguez…"

"Was a little too much and I have to avoid it." – She completed. "I know. So I've been told, but sometimes I get a little too caught up by this tension and get a little over myself. I apologize."

"Hey... don't apologize to me. I'd like to have done the same thing. But, when his lawyer arrives and Hank tells him what you did, Morgan, not only will you probably have a civil suit against you, as the Sheriff will also want to have a little talk with you."

"I'm not scared of the Sheriff and I'm even less scared of a suit." – She said, looking away. "I can deal with that."

"You know that Ecklie as also been dying to…" – He started but shut up before finishing the sentence.

"I know, Vartann… He's been thrilled to get even the tiniest chance to fire me, ever since I got here. I know it, you know it and everybody in the LVPD knows it." – She completed. "It's because I'm a punk. Because I don't like much to follow the policy in certain cases. Because I have a bad temper. Because each time he walked into the Lab when I was kept working indoors, I'd been listening to progressive metal out loud, making the glass walls shiver. Because I almost tore Gordon's head off, during her interrogation. Because I punched Sara, two months after I got here and I never explained Grissom why I did it. Because I'm the leader of the top five of the most hated people on the Crime Lab and I'm best friends with the second person on that ranking. Meanwhile, she's out of the Lab and is now a Detective, so I'm the only one who's bugging him. He wants to fire me because he hates me but I'm fucking great at my job, which annoys him even more, because he needs me on board." – She spoke, looking straight to the road in front of them. "I don't cross the line because I know I'm sure someone have my back… I just cross the line because that's how I am."

He smiled and she continued. "I want to control myself more. I do. And I don't want anyone to defend me, I don't need that. I have to take all the consequences of my actions, I know it. And I will."

They stood silent for a while, each one caught up on his own thoughts, until Vartann spoke again. "You mentioned Sofia…"

"Oh… I'm sorry, I shouldn't. Excuse-me, I just was too caught up in what I was saying and I forgot to think before I spoke. It happens to me a lot." – She excused herself, blushing a little. "How are you holding up?"

He sighed. "I'm trying… I know I was the one to say I needed some time for myself, to think about all of this but now…"

"I know the feeling." – She said.

"Have you talked to her?" – He asked.

"We've talked on the phone a few times. I wanted to go down there, to Boulder, but I've been trapped here, between work and trying to help Nick and all. I've wanted to talk to you lately, but I've been distracted…"

"It's okay. "

"She's okay, I think. She's a little distressing, so she decided to work as hard as they let her. She's been working like hell these days. I can barely talk to her, she's always busy." – She said. "I know it's none of my business and that I don't have to give my opinion… but you two should talk, Vartann."

"You can't imagine how tough it was when I drove back from Boulder, that weekend after Nick's ordeal." – He confessed. "All I wanted to do was turn on the road and head back there… I love her, Morgan, but I can't do it anymore. We only fought each time we were together. I'm here, she's there, I have my cases, she has hers, and all the stress and tension, it was killing us."

"I've been there, I know the drill." – She said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "You have to let the dust settle down."

"That was how you solved your problem?" – He asked.

She looked down at the floor, reaching for another cigarette. "I was eighteen at the time. We were falling apart when we started college. I was studying Biology, he was studying Architecture. Both anxious and tired, we would only fight and then I asked him for a little time."

"And what did he do?" – Vartann asked, after a few seconds of silence.

"He gave me a week. Then, he showed up at my house, one night, and said he had dropped of college. He knew I wanted to be a CSI and that that had been my dream since I was a little girl, so he dropped of college for our relationship to work out."

Vartann laughed. "Smart kid… Did it work?"

"I've been in Vegas for about a year now. Have you seen someone here with me?" – She asked, blowing the smoke away.

He looked down, embarrassed. "You're right. Sorry, it's none of my business." – He apologized. Just then, Judy appeared at the door. "Hey guys, your suspect's lawyer is here."

"Thanks Judy." – He said. "I'll be there in a minute. Are you coming?" – He asked, turning to Morgan again.

"I don't think it's a good idea. I'm waiting for Wendy's call and the guy… well, let's see… he doesn't like me that much." – She completed, with an evil smile.

He laughed. "Okay then. We'll talk later."

"Good luck man. Vartann…" – She called, when he was already walking to the inside of the Police Station.

"Yeah?" – He asked, turning back to her.

"Hank murdered Chelsea Riley. I know he did, I can feel it… Please don't let him walk away with it." – She requested, biting her lip, nervously. "Don't let him get away because of my bad temper…"

"Don't worry, Rodriguez. I won't." – He assured her. "You have my word."

**(At the Crime Lab, about half an hour later)**

"Hey Wendy." – Morgan greeted, entering the DNA Lab. "What's up?"

"Hey." – The girl greeted, still looking through the microscope. "I'm just analyzing some samples Warrick brought me. And what are you still doing here?" – She asked, looking up to her. "You haven't gone home yet, have you?"

"How do you know?"

"You are still wearing the same clothes you were last night, Morgan…" – Wendy pointed out. "You should go and rest. Your shift only starts in about six hours or so."

"I know. And I'm going home to take a shower and change clothes now, but first I wanted to ask you something about mine and Greg's case."

"Sure, what do you want to know?"

"Why was Hank Peterson on the system? Do you remember what was on his record?" – She asked. "You said you had found him through CODIS… why was his DNA on the system?"

"Oh… I can't remember. I guess it was something like first degree murder or something like that." – Wendy answered, a little embarrassed. "I know it's not a big help, but I don't remember exactly what it was. Sorry."

"It's okay. It's not your job to remember anyways. I'll search it out, when I come back. Thanks a lot, Wendy. See ya later. I'm going home now." – She said, turning on her heels. She walked to her car, opened the door and threw her bag to the seat next to hers. Turning on the ignition, she quickly drove away, leaving the Crime Lab behind, not even looking to the building once.

She needed to sleep. She needed to rest, if only for a couple of hours, to clear her head and be able to think straight. Chelsea Riley wouldn't certainly mind to wait a little longer to get her killer busted for life. Morgan knew that after sleeping a bit, her brain would be all functional again and she would find the missing pieces of this unsolved puzzle and be able to close the case.

"You won't be a free man ever again, Hank Peterson." – She stated. "In what depends on me, you will regretfully pay for taking Chelsea's life…"

Why she was so convinced he was guilty, Morgan did not know. But something deep inside her was screaming, telling he had been the one killing the girl. She just needed to find the motive.

"_And that…"_ – She thought, turning the key and opening the door of hers and Nick's apartment. _"That will just have to wait four more hours. Just give me four more hours, Chelsea."_

**(Roughly six hours later, ****in the basement of the Police Station)**

"Aha, look who's here…" – Hank sneered. "That crazy CSI bitch!"

"Watch your mouth, buddy!" – Vartann warned. Morgan had told him she needed to see the suspect once again and he had insisted to go down there with her.

"You came to give back the hairs you ripped off?" – Hank asked, a lustful glimpse on his eyes, as he approached the cell bars and supported his arms on them. "Or are you here to make it up to me?"

"I've warned you, Peterson. I'd be careful, if I were you…" – Vartann started.

"Alex… would you give us just a minute?" – Morgan requested, interrupting him, not moving her eyes away from Hank's. Vartann hesitated for a moment and she insisted. "It will only be a minute. Don't worry, I'll be fine."

He nodded and took a few steps back. Morgan approached the cell and stared at Hank for some seconds. "What do you want from me?"

"I want to know why you killed her." – She said. "I know you've been in jail for beating a young girl, who looked a bit like Chelsea. What was it, Hank? You tried your luck and she turned you down? Scratched your neck and tried to run away from the car, so you drove over her?" – She raised her voice. "Or did she just tell you how much you disgusted her and you didn't like to hear it? Am I getting closer, Hank?"

"SHUT UP!" – He shouted. – "I didn't kill anyone."

"You're trying to convince yourself you didn't. Your lawyer's convinced he'll be able to get you out of here, but newsflash, Hank… you won't!" – She stated. "So, tell me… why did you do it?"

He looked at her; hate and fury all over his face and said nothing. When she was about to speak again, he spat to her shirt. Morgan stood quiet for a moment, looking down at her chest. Then, she looked to him again. "So, you don't want to tell… Fine. Listen to me, then. I will be there, Hank. I will be there when they place you on the chair. I'll be there when the clock hits the time and they give you the lethal injection. I'll be there when you exhale your last insignificant breath. And you want to know more, Hank?" – She said, taking another step forward and locking her eyes to his. "I'll enjoy every little fucking second of it."

They kept their gaze fixed on each other for a moment more, before Morgan turned around and left, leaving Hank Peterson alone.

"_He's going to pay for what he did to you, Chelsea…"­_ – She said to herself. _"I'll make sure that the bastard's going to pay."_


	28. Chapter 28: Crash Into Me

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episode 'Grave Danger' isn't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

_**EmSyd - **Thanks once more for your review. Hope you keep reading._

_**Danica V - **I'm so glad you like her too. It's been awesome to write her, so passionate, it's been an awesome trip and I'm happy that someone really catches her essence. Thansk for your review, hope you keep enjoying it._

**A/N: **This story is now, officially, M-Rated! As I promised on the first chapter, back on April (Yeah, I've been writing this for about a year now, I started it around February last year), you've been warned. By the way, once again, I'm sorry for the long wait, but these last three weeks have been full with schoolwork and then with my part time job and life, I hadn't much time to work on this chapter, though this has been written, almost completely, since the beginning.

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter 28**

Nick woke up from one of those nightmares that have been tormenting him since the kidnapping and those days he had spent buried alive. He looked to his alarm clock. It was 2.30am. He sat on the bed and passed his hand through his short hair. "_When will this be over?" _He asked himself. Six weeks had passed since those days, the two most terrifying days of his life and he still dreamt about that. Sometimes, he still felt like he was trapped in that box, without oxygen.

He got out of bed and went to the kitchen to drink some water, trying to calm himself. Accidentally, his elbow hit a glass that was on the cupboard and it fell to the floor. The glass broke into a million pieces and made a noise capable of waking the whole building.

"Shit!" – He muttered. "Damn glass. I hope I didn't wake Morgan up."

"You didn't." – A voice behind him added.

He turned around. Morgan was at the doorstep, wearing a pair of pyjama pants and a spaghetti strapped black top. Her hair was falling loose from a half ponytail and her right shoulder, the one with that terrifying scar, was covered with a huge bandage, as she always did, when she used a piece of clothing that revealed that part of her body.

"You weren't sleeping?"

"No. I was in the living room, just watching a movie. I can't sleep. And you? Another nightmare?"

Nick leaned forward and started catching the pieces of the broken glass. "Hey…" – She kneeled in front of him – "Leave it, I'll catch them. You want something?"

"I was just going to get some fresh water." – He said, standing up.

She caught all the pieces and threw them to the sink. "I was thinking about preparing hot chocolate for myself. You want some?" - She smiled to him.

"I don't want to give you any extra work."

"You don't. It's my pleasure. You'll see that the hot chocolate will make you feel better and help you sleep. It always works with me."

She turned his back to him and started preparing it; five minutes later, a delicious scent of that drink overwhelmed the room, when Morgan put a mug on his hands and sat on the cupboard.

"Hope you like it."

Nick tried a little bit and smiled – "It's awesome. Thanks."

"You're welcome." – She grinned, jumped down and went back to the living room. Nick stood there for a minute, focused on the drink before following her.

"Morgan?" – He asked when he entered the living room. She moved her eyes away from the TV screen, while the commercial spot was still on, and turned to him. "Yeah?"

"Do you feel like listening some guy that is driving nuts, in the middle of the night?"

She smiled – "Of course, Nick. Be my guest." – She answered, pointing to the place on the couch, on her side.

"Well…" – She said, reaching for her mug – "I'm all ears."

Nick took a deep breath and stared at the picture that rested in a frame, on the top of the counter. It had been taken some months before; he and Warrick were sitting on the couch of the break room, watching some game, in a free moment that they had had that night and Morgan and Sofia were talking about something. It had been taken by the time he still liked his job.

"I'm going to quit." – He said, after several minutes in silence, just looking to the picture.

"What?"

"I can't do this anymore, I'm going to quit."

"Don't you even think about it. I'm not going to allow you to throw your dream of a lifetime through that window just because of some psycho guy who blew himself up and that now is haunting you. Don't you even think about it. No. Not in a million years!"

"Morgan…"

"Morgan shit!" – She snapped and got up – "You studied your whole life for this. You're one of the bests CSI's I know. Are you going to give up that easily?"

"Is not that simple!" – Nick said.

"You're the one that is trying to not make it as simple as it is." – She was now staring at the window to the outside – "Or maybe, I was wrong about you."

"What are you talking about?"

"I thought you were an example of a good CSI. The guy that handles with everything right. The guy that is always there when I mess up. I was new in town, with no friends or family, no place to go, only my dream of becoming an exceptional CSI. Then, I met you. I started trusting you. Why the hell did you think that I opened myself more? I told you I didn't trust the others easily, and I still don't. You were an exception, Nick. I thought I could learn from you, to grow up as a good professional. That night… do you still remember it? You said that I was worth it. All the effort and the patience you were having with me… you said I worthed it. I had never thought of that, that I could actually worth shit! Dammit! Are you telling me that it was all for nothing?"

Nick stood there for a minute, in silence, thinking about what she had just said - "You're overreacting!" – He said, calmly.

"No, I'm not. You are the one that is overreacting!"

"Oh excuse-me… I'm sorry for being trapped in that damn box for almost two days and not being able to forget it. Yeah, that's right Morgan... I'm not that good. I'm not that strong that I can go over it so fast!" – He got up and walked to the door. He turned to her and sighed – "Dammit! I thought that, at least, I could talk to **you**."

He turned his back to her and went to his room. She stood there for a moment, thinking about what had happened. She reached for their mugs, like a robot, went to the kitchen, and washed them. When this task was finished, she found herself at the door of Nick's room, with a lump on her throat. When she thought she had gained courage and she was ready to face him, she knocked the door.

"What do you want?"

Ignoring his question, she opened the door and entered. "Nick, I'm sorry. You were right I was overreacting. It's just…"

"Just what?"

She approached him, by the window, and said – "You can't ask me to sit by watching you giving up something you love. I can't do that!"

"I know. I went a little out of my mind too. I shouldn't have talked to you like that either."

"It's okay." – She hugged him – "I'm here for you, you know? Always!"

Nick nodded. It felt so good having her pressed to his body like that. When she pulled back, Morgan looked him straight in the eyes and said – "And you are strong, Nick. You've proved that so many times. Just for surviving that… thing, you proved that you are very, very strong and brave. I wouldn't have lasted half the time you did."

She was now with her back against the window and Nick was in front of her. He touched her cheek and nodded. When he lifted his head up again, he realized that their faces were really close to each other.

The rational Nick Stokes fell to the temptation that had been haunting him for the past months, closed his eyes and kissed her.

She was caught in surprise but kissed him back. Her hands left the parapet on the window and went up to his face and then to the back of his neck, deepening the kiss. She couldn't believe this was happening. Nick was kissing her and it felt so damn good!

His hands went down her body and, once on her waist, he lifted her up and, breaking the kiss, sat her on the parapet of the window. Meanwhile, Morgan traced soft kisses down his neck and shoulders. She wrapped her legs around him and pulled him closer. Nick's lips claimed her attention again when he lifted her chin up and kissed her.

Morgan felt like she was in Heaven. Only once had she been kissed this way, with this feeling, this passion, and it had been such a long time ago... Nick lifted her up and carried her to his bed, settling her down, carefully. He continued to kiss her lips while his fingers undid the straps on her pants. When he kissed down her jaw and neck, Morgan was hit by reality and panic took over her.

"Nick..." – She called, trying to sit back up – "Nick, hold on… We can't do this."

His mouth was near her ear and he whispered – "I need you Morgan… now." She closed her eyes and bit her lower lip.

He kissed down her neck to her collarbone, and gently began to pull off the bandage on her shoulder. He knew that she always used one to hide that huge scar but she didn't need to hide it from him. He didn't know when or how she had got it, and he didn't care, at least, not that moment. He kissed that scar, briefly, just brushing his lips softly against the scar tissue that had formed under the tattoo. He ran his fingertips along the words written on her arm, wondering if writing them on the top of the scar wouldn't have hurt like hell.

"Yes, it did hurt a little… The guy who made the tattoo warned me that painting over scar tissue always hurts a little more than usual, but it didn't bother me much. And that's not the only one I have with something written near by…"

He looked deeply in her eyes: there hadn't been any sign of any feeling, when she had spoken those words to him and he blushed _"There you go. Busted! You could disguise a little better what you think!"_ – He internally criticized himself. She lifted her hand up, touched his face, and pulled him down for one more kiss.

Nick reached for her hands and started kissing his way down to her wrists, one arm at a time. He felt some wound marks under his lips when he kissed her wrists. All the pain she had been through during her adolescence was still there, marked forever on her arms. He wanted to take it all away, for the last time. He felt her tense when he approached his lips to her wrist.

"Nick…" - She murmured – "Please, don't…" – She tried to take her arm off but his grip was too tight. He stared at her for some seconds: she was biting her lip and he could see that she was really uncomfortable and trying not to let her emotions come out, fighting not to shudder. He looked at her wrist again and leaned forward slowly, loosening the grip so that she could remove her arm if she wanted to. She didn't and he kissed it, softly, delicately, as if his kisses could drawn all the pain and dissipate it.

He pinned her arms above her head and held her wrists with his left hand while his right hand ran down her upper body, slowly, exploring every inch of her. The touch of her soft skin under his fingertips was incredible. When he reached her waist, he went back up and started to go down again, this time placing soft kisses all way.

She shivered when he reached the hem of her top and pulled it up a little but his touch and his actions were giving her so much pleasure that she let herself go. When he set her hands free, she rolled him onto his back and made him took off his t-shirt. She straddled his waist and passed her fingertips on his muscled chest and abs, feeling the muscles twisting at her touch. She smiled, as she adored his developed body. She discovered a little scar on his right side, probably a mark from the time that his psycho stalker had thrown him through a window. She leaned down and followed the little scar, running her fingers up and down. She looked at him for some seconds before looking down again and kissing the scar, softly. Then, she grinned evilly and passed the tip of her tongue over the scar, making him tremble beneath her.

Nick was running circles on her back, paying special attention to the tattoo she had on her right shoulder blade, that symbol that she loved so much, tracing it, while she kissed every inch of his chest. He took off the band on her hair and tangled his fingers with it, pulling her up, crashing his lips to hers once again.

She broke the kiss and moaned when his hands slid down her back to her waist. He flipped her onto her back again, so that he was back on top of her and started to pull down her pants, slowly, absorbing her beauty, kissing his way down. He stopped on her right knee, where he followed a mark with his fingers.

"I had a knee injury, a couple of years ago and I had to have a surgery. I've always loved soccer!" – She explained – "Stupid kid on that championship. She screwed my knee!"

Nick couldn't help but smile, when he kissed over the mark, making her shiver once again. He finally took off her top and she arched her back when he pressed his body against hers. Her hands slid down his torso and stopped on the waistband of his boxers.

"Do you want me to stop?" – He murmured, despite knowing that he wouldn't like if she said 'Yes'.

She bit her lip and closed her eyes. Then, she whispered "No" and pulled down his boxers, emphasizing her answer.

He kissed her again, trying to express all the emotions he was feeling in that very moment, while they got rid of the rest of the clothes.

Nick caressed her skin as he teased her for a little longer. His tongue slid softly on her bottom lip and she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him even closer.

"Nicky…" – She whispered, almost breathless.

"Yes?" – He looked up to her, staring at her amazing dark brown eyes, the scent of her beautiful long black hair and those red tips torturing him along with the desire that she burnt inside him.

"Stop teasing!"

He smiled again and entwined his fingers with hers, supporting all his weight on his arms and elbows. He kissed her gently at the same time that he slowly entered her. Morgan arched her back, pressing her body against his, breaking the kiss as she moaned when she felt him. She, somehow, managed to free her arms and, as he kissed her neck down to her shoulders, very slowly and gently, she caressed his face and neck and hair with her hands, letting them roam over him.

Nick started to move, slowly at first, taking his time to kiss her shoulders and moving to her throat as she tilted her head back. She was irresistible. The moment when, with one of his thrusts, Morgan moaned his name, was music to his ears and only made him have the need and the desire to keep going, make her the only and most important woman in the Universe, just by loving her and making her feel good (Something that he knew that she needed as much as you need air to survive). As he felt the moment of his release getting closer and closer by the second, Nick slowed down his movements and she whimpered against his mouth, as he kissed her once more. A few minutes later, they both reached their climax, as the feelings that they bounded them and that they had been trying to hide for the last months, the need they had for each other took over them.

After it, they were still for a moment, looking deep in each other's eyes. _"God, she's so beautiful!"_ – Nick thought, amazed with her passion, her delicacies, her intensity.

Her lips claimed his for the millionth time that night. Nick rolled off her so that he lay on his right and she turned to her left to face him. He passed his arm around her waist, pulling her even closer to him. She touched his face with the back of her hand, softly. He closed his eyes, pleased with her touch and held her hand, kissing it.

"Morgan…" – He whispered.

"Yes?"

"What you said before... About not worthing?" – Nick said, softly – "You do. More then you can ever imagine. Each touch, each kiss, each caress… You worth it all. More than anyone. Thanks for making me feel alive again."

**(A little later)**

Nick was asleep, peacefully, with his face turned to her. Trying not to wake him up, Morgan rolled off the bed, got up and grabbed her clothes that were lying on the floor. She put them on, silently, opened the door and left Nick's room.

She entered her room and sat on the edge of her bed. She looked at the alarm clock that was on her bedside table: 5.30 am.

She passed her hand through her hair – _"What did we just do, Nick?"_ – She thought. Morgan let herself fell on the bed as little flashbacks of all that had happened that night quickly passed through her mind. She turned on the bed and reached the silver ring that she always wore on her right hand. She looked at the inscription inside, a lump rising on her throat. "I'm sorry." – She whispered, as she put the ring back on her finger.

Morgan sighed and closed her eyes; the only thing that could never, EVER happen had just occurred… she was falling harder and harder for Nick Stokes, she couldn't deny it anymore, and she had just slept with him.

"_Shit!"_

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_Review, please:)_


	29. Chapter 29: War Inside My Head

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episode 'Grave Danger' isn't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

_**futuremisscsi60istoolazy2login - **Oh thank you! I was killing me too, but I already took care of that. Now how will this afect them?_

_**stoked by stokez-99 - **Thanks. She's not exactly 'married', but I ain't telling anything further. You got to stay tuned if you want to know more about Morgan and her past. Thanks for the review, hope you keep reading (and reviewing)._

_**EmSyd - **Thanks. And, once again, here's some more._

_**jenn - **And you are so right, my dear... Angst chapter on the way, but what else is new? Glad you liked it. If it took me 28 chapters to get them in bed, wonder how much longer will it take me to finish this story? Hope you like it._

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter 29 **

The next morning, Morgan got up pretty early, after only having slept two or three hours. Trying to make the less noise possible, she randomly searched for a pair of jeans and a top and walked to the bathroom. She realized that Nick must have been still asleep when she saw his car keys and his wallet resting on the counter, at the hall. She turned on the hot water and stripped of her clothes, throwing them to the laundry basket.

She let the water wash away all the traces, all the emotions that were assaulting her; emotions, feelings she hadn't felt in a long time and that she had wondered and seriously doubted she would ever feel again. Little drops fell on her forehead and she closed her eyes, passing her hands down her hair, rinsing away any sample of shampoo that might still be there. When she was satisfied with the softness of her hair at touch, Morgan took some time to feel the water against her skin, as it could make her forget all that had happened the night before.

However, it was useless. It was like Nick's lips were still pressing on her neck, his tongue was still tracing the terrifying mark on her right shoulder and down her arm, his fingertips were still caressing all the seven tattoos she had on her upper body yet (she had a couple more planned already), his palms were still scanning down her body to her hips, his breath was still chilling on her hair, his eyes were still, so lovingly, locked to hers…

He was all over her; the water wasn't going to wash that away and she knew it. Her dilemma was that there was another someone that lived there, in the place where she was now willing to put Nick in. Someone that had been locked inside her mind for many years. Someone that had been occupying that place on her life even though he had been taken far, far away from her. Someone that she questioned herself, every single day, if she was ready to let go yet… Someone that she knew, deep down in what was left of her heart, as a certainty, that she would never, ever want to let go.

His name… was Michael.

**(One Hour Later)**

At exactly 9.15am, Morgan parked the service car she had been using the past weeks, since Nick's ordeal, in front of the Police Station. After his _experience_, Nick had taken a three-week licence from work; after that and for the past three and a half weeks, sort of, he had been stuck on paperwork and Lab work, according to Grissom's orders. This twist on the team had left the rest of them with some extra work. However, as Sanders has finished his profiency and was now working on the field full time, they had wisely divided tasks, leaving all of them with the less extra work possible.

To try to forget what had happened between one of her best friends and herself, that night, Morgan had decided to dive into work and drown in it as much as she could. She was working with Grissom and Sara on the case of the explosion at the trailer park. She still had loads of debris to process, each one of them being a little unsolved puzzle, but she wasn't feeling okay and focused enough to be handling evidences with the care that was essential.

Taking off her sunglasses and placing them on the top of her head, she walked through the doors of the Station and stopped in the Reception, on front of Judy's desk. The day shift receptionist wasn't used to see her in so soon.

"Hey Morgan." – She greeted.

"Hey Judy." – She greeted back, taking her ID from her wallet to pass it through the security panel. – "Have you seen Brass this morning?"

"Yeah. I guess he's in his office." – The red haired answered and took the opportunity, one of the rare occasions that she had the chance to see Morgan in the Station, during day shifts. – "I didn't know you were so workaholic…"

"I'm not." – Morgan simple answered, forcing a small smile, silently praying for the woman not to comment on anything else. She turned around and walked to Brass's office. In the hall, she saw him coming out of it.

"Rodriguez." – He said, surprised. "Didn't think I'd ever see you up so early on your day off…"

"Hey Jim." – She said. "I couldn't sleep. I thought I could drop by and do something about the case. Give you hand with the wife, maybe…"

"Oh." – Brass wasn't stupid. "Is that everything or did you just made that bunch of crap up cause you don't want to tell me the real reason for you to be up here, so soon, on your day off?"

Morgan moved her eyes away from his and didn't answer. She quickly tried to change the subject - "Anything new concerning the wife?"

"She lawyered up. I have a broadcast out on her truck and the warrant's ready to go." – Brass answered, respecting her silence about the motive of her appearance in the Station. – "I can try to get something out of her, but I need some more time." – He said, as they kept walking around. He stopped when they were in front of the waiting room. "I'll make some phone calls and see if we can do something about the truck. Care to wait or are you going to the Lab?"

"No, Jim, I think she's going to stay here for a while…" – A known, dear voice sounded behind her, as Morgan was about to answer. Brass briefly nodded, a small grin in his lips, as Morgan turned around.

"What the hell… Sofia!" – She exclaimed, surprised. _"Once again, you have the perfect timing…"_ – She thought to herself. She felt relieved for having Sofia around. She would come out with something to help her out of this mess. Sofia was one of the three people (_"Well, maybe now they're just two…"_) that she knew that were there for her. The other two were her dad, obviously!, and Nick. However, with them, she was a little reluctant about asking for help… with Sofia, mysteriously, she wasn't, maybe because, despite the age and evident style difference, their personality was very much alike, in certain details.

"Surprise." – Brass said, turning around to walk back to his office and leaving the two friends alone.

"I thought you were in Boulder City…" – Morgan said, still a little surprised.

"A spot opened up here and I transferred in today." – Sofia explained. "Although you don't seem happy to see me…"

"Oh… I am." – Morgan said, snapping back to reality. "God!, I really am… I was thinking about calling you today."

"We talked on the phone yesterday. I just didn't tell you because I wanted to surprise you. You're not okay; what happened, Rodriguez?" – Sofia asked, noticing the angst on her friend's eyes.

Morgan kept silent and looked around. "Can we talk somewhere else other than the middle of the hall?" – She asked.

"Sure. The locker room is this way…" – Sofia pointed to a door, down the hall. "I can't go out of the Station right now, so over there we'll be quiet and you can tell me whatever that is disturbing you, cause you are clearly not fine."

Morgan bit her lower lip and followed her to the locker room. Once there, and while Sofia opened her cabinet to put something inside, she sat on the bench and took off her leather jacket. When the Detective turned back to face her, she looked up at her and saw Sofia's eyes widen in shock.

"Things are so royally fucked up between me and Nick now…" – Morgan started, staring down at the floor.

"Rodriguez… What the hell happened to your shoulder?" – Sofia asked. When she had turned around to look at her friend and listen to her attentively, she had spotted the awfullest scar she had ever seen in her life. A mark that begun right above Morgan's collarbone, near her neck, and that went down her right arm until halfway to her elbow.

"Oh shit!" – Morgan murmured. She had been so desperate to leave the house that she had forgotten to cover the scar with a band-aid, as usual. "I.. uh…" – She hesitated, as Sofia leaned against the now closed locker. "I was in a car accident a few years back." – She answered, concisely, not wanting to give away any more details, yet.

"How come I'd never seen it before?"

"I don't generally wear tops without a jacket. One of my daily routines is to cover it with a bandage. And usually, even the shortest sleeves of my t-shirts, only leave part of it at sight so it's not that obvious." – Morgan explained. They stood silent for a minute before Sofia broke the ice and incentive Morgan to go on talking. "You were saying…?"

"I slept with Nick." – She suddenly blurted out. Said aloud it sounded even worse. "Everything that people said, and still do, about me and him and the nature of our relationship… Everything that I always denied and despised… Apparently, it became real."

"What? When?"

"Last night. He woke up, in the middle of the night; I assumed that he had another of those nightmares. I had arrived from work a little before and I was just watching a movie in the living room, as I couldn't sleep. We talked and ended up fighting. I had never shouted at him that way before. I had never shouted at him, in the matter… and it hurt me so much, Sofia!"

Sofia sighed and sat next to her – "And then?"

Morgan told the whole story, without taking any break. How she had fought and shouted at him, how they had ended up passionately kissing each other and spending the night making love on his bed.

"I couldn't have done it, dammit!"

Sofia didn't know what to say. She had known, for some months now that Nick didn't see Morgan as just a friend. She also knew that Morgan herself was still too much of a mystery to all of them, for her to discover exactly how did her friend feel about him. However, at the very least, there was something about him that made her be different whenever they would mention his name.

"Did he force you into anything or…?"

"No!" – Morgan answered. "Of course not. He'd never do that, Sofia."

"I know, but that's the only reason I could think of, that could make you be so… affected. Sorry." – Sofia apologized.

"Nick would never, ever make me do something that I had told him I didn't want to." – Morgan said. "At the beginning, I had this sudden rational impulse and I told him that we couldn't do it. Then, he told me he needed me, I started to let myself go and when he asked me if I wanted to stop, I wasn't thinking straight anymore…"

"Come on, Morgan, don't go there… there's no blames to point out here! You're just two adults who committed an irrational act. Not so irrational, if you allow me to point it out."

Morgan looked at Sofia – "Not so irrational?" – She asked. Impulsively, she took off the silver ring she wore on her right hand and gave it to Sofia. "That ring was given to me, four years ago, by someone back in Cameron."

Sofia took it carefully in her hands, reading what had been craved on the inside. _I Walk Beside You, July 21__st__ 2001._

"What's this?"

"That's the title of one of Dream Theater's songs. One of my favourites. The date was my 19th birthday." – Morgan explained. "You can't say 'not so irrational' and then make me look at it. I couldn't have slept with Nick. That wasn't rational, it was… stupid. He needed me and instead of supporting him, comfort him, what did I do? I slept with him…"

"Rodriguez…"

"Rodriguez shit, Sofia!" – Morgan snapped. "He's one of the most important people in my life and now it's all ruined because I couldn't control myself."

"Morgan, that's ridiculous. I don't understand what's the big problem. I mean, it's okay, you may think that your friendship could have been ruined, but he likes you! I've known that he has been in love you ever since I got here and I haven't seen him yet, but I'm almost positively sure that he's still the same."

She opened her mouth to protest, but Sofia didn't allow her to – "Please, let me finish… I can also say that I still may not know you so well and, God! I wished I did, but you like him too. You can't deny that. Since you two got closer, since that dinner, date, or whatever you want to call it… You are happier. I noticed a change on your demeanour. You're still the same cold and angsty Morgan you were when I first met you, but you're lighter. I always thought that it had to have happened something before you get to Vegas that made you be like this. I don't know what it is or if you want to tell me or not… I never asked either. The only thing I know for sure is that you might be wasting, throwing to the garbage a chance of being happy with someone that I know, deep down, is willing to put you above everything."

Morgan stood speechless, after Sofia's explosion. She said nothing for a few moments and her friend took her silence to apply the final blow – "And as you're my best friend and I care about you and love you very much, I can't sit around and watch you make the same mistake that I did. Just because you're stubborn, or you have the 'co-workers' fear or the 'age' ghost or something… I won't do that."

"You… you wouldn't understand, Sofia…" – Morgan murmured.

"Try me." – She challenged, her blue eyes fixed on Morgan's. The young girl got up and paced around the locker room for a while. This was too much pressure for her to handle. She knew, she had always known that someday she would have to talk about it but even now, almost four years later, it hadn't gotten any easier.

When she was about to say something, a group of female police officers, with whom Morgan and Sofia had once had a fight about some comments that they had made about them when Sofia was still a CSI, entered the locker room, cheerily talking as if they were a bunch of high school girls, alone in the bathroom, gossiping about other's life..

"Girls, you're not going to believe this…" – The blonde, who seemed to be the leader of the group, said. They hadn't noticed another presence in the room yet.

"What did you find out, Andy?"

"Curtis is back in town." – She said. "I saw Brass talking with her this morning. She must have gotten kicked out of Boulder City and they fixed something for her here. After Ecklie, she may have _convinced_ Brass as well…"

Sofia closed her eyes and took a long, deep breath, controlling herself. Morgan didn't show any reaction; she knew she had to control herself too. One more fight with these girlies would be her one-way ticket to the Human Resources department, to get her last paycheck and be sent away.

"And you have that grin on your lips because of that?"

"No, of course not! There's more…"

"Come on, Andy… Tell us!" – One of the others insisted.

"Well… Guess who's dating sexy Stokes?"

Morgan's eyes opened wide and she looked at Sofia. The Detective mutely waved for her to keep quiet, as the others went on talking. They hadn't noticed a foreign presence in the room yet.

"WHO?"

"The punk…"

"No. Shut up, Andy. They've said about a thousand times that they're not together. Have you looked at her?" – One of them asked, ironically. The others burst out laughing and another added – "Yeah, she's sooo not Nick's type… I'd picture her with… well… I don't know… some drug addict like one of those we arrest everyday."

Another wave of laughter. By then, Morgan was already pacing back and forward again around the bench, as Andy explained her discover.

"I saw them having lunch yesterday, all nice and cute with each other at Frankie's."

"Oh, you did? Really?"

"Yeah. And if you ask me… I bet she's only doing it... you know what for. Remember the scene with Sara?"

"Okay, enough is enough." – Sofia snapped, getting up and walking to the other aisle of lockers, where they were talking. "What the hell is your problem, Andy?"

"Oh, Curtis, were you there?" – She asked, innocently.

"Yeah." – Morgan answered, appearing behind her. "Do you have anything to add? You know, me and Sofia, we would like to participate a little in this conversation too…"

"Oh, you do? So, you can start by telling us…"

"Telling you what?"

"About you and Stokes." – Andy said, not knowing how stupid and irrational her idea had been.

Morgan ironically smiled. "Oh, I have a better idea, Andy…". Sofia looked at her – _"What the hell is your twisted mind planning, Rodriguez?"_

Then, out of nowhere, Morgan grabbed Andy by the collar of her shirt and threw her against the nearest locker, a hateful and sarcastic grin on her lips. "What about me telling you, detail by little fucking detail, how you're going to end up with a scar similar to the one you can see here on my right shoulder if you keep talking about me or Sofia behind our back?" – She suggested. "I think that's much better… Don't you think, Sofia?"

As the Detective didn't answer, she continued – "If I catch you or any of your square friends talking, or even just THINKING, DREAMING about talking of us again, I can guarantee you that that's what's going to happen… You wouldn't like to have that shiny, little, pretty face of yours ruined, would you, Andy?"

"If you touch me, Rodriguez…"

"What? Are you going to file a complaint? Are you going to run to Ecklie and get me fired?" – Morgan teased. "I don't mind, honey… I can get another job… but you? It's hard to get another face, sweetheart… Really hard." – She said, releasing the officer. Andy and the rest of the officers turned around and quickly left the locker room. Morgan and Sofia, who was a little speechless, walked back to the other aisle, where they were before.

"Good Lord, Rodriguez…" – Sofia murmured, sitting down at the bench. "You even scared me, out there."

Morgan was with her back turned to her, her right fist closed tight against Sofia's locker. After a few seconds, she turned and looked at her and sighed. "How on Earth am I going to face him, Sofia?"

Sofia took a deep breath and stared deep into Morgan's eyes. Her eyes never lied: she really didn't know how to handle this situation, how to face Nick after their passionate night. However, this time, neither did Sofia.


	30. Chapter 30: Ghost of Navigator

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episode 'Grave Danger' isn't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

_**EmSyd - **Thank you._

_**Stoked By Stokes-99** - Well, thank you and you're welcome. That chapter was one of the most crucials in this story, but don't worry. More will come. Oh, definitly, Morgan's a fighter. You ain't seen all of it yet. Keep reviewing, would you? -smiles-_

_**jenn - **And once again you're right, my friend. Here's some more angst. Is it too much? Tell me what you think. Thanks for the review and hope this keeps you interested._

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter ****30**

About ten minutes later, Morgan's cell phone started ringing. She hesitated a little before getting it, almost as if as she feared it was Nick. When she got it out of the back pocket of her jeans, she read the caller ID on the screen and let out a laugh.

"What?" – Sofia questioned. They had been silent for some minutes before the phone started ringing. She was still sitting on the bench and Morgan was still standing up, leaning against the locker.

"Come on… she left this locker room, what, ten minutes ago?" – Morgan said, showing Sofia the screen. It said 'C. Ecklie' on the caller ID. "Can she be _this_ fast?" – She commented, ironically.

"Yes, she can. You better answer it…" – Sofia advised. Morgan let out an annoyed groan. "Just what was missing to make my day even worse…" – She said, picking up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Rodriguez. I know you're in the Police Station. I want your ass back on the Lab and right into my office in the next fifteen minutes. I mean it!" – Ecklie snapped, not even giving Morgan a flashy second to try to say something. "Hurry up." – He ordered and then hung up, as abruptly as he had started to speak.

She slid the cell phone back into her pocket. "Was he really speaking that loud?" – She asked.

Sofia nodded, with a smile. "He's totally pissed off with you, Morgan."

"Do I look like I'm worried?" – Morgan asked. "Anyway, I need to have a coffee first, to be able to keep my eyes wide open while he talks, and talks, and talks… I sense he's going to keep me there for like, forever. Telling me that 'who the hell do you think you are?' speech all over again."

Sofia couldn't help but laugh as she got up from the bench while Morgan redressed her jacket. She arranged her hair, which had already dried, and then suddenly stopped and closed her eyes, thinking for a moment. "Hang on a minute, Sofia… do you think that they heard us talking?"

"What? No. They got in the locker room and we stopped talking almost simultaneously. Why do you ask that? You're not thinking…"

Morgan turned to her again, completing her train of thought. "Yeah… What if Ecklie wants to talk to me about Nick?"

"Why on Earth would he want to talk to you about Nick?"

"I mean, everybody suspects that we have something going on…"

"Which you do." – Sofia added but Morgan ignored her and went on talking. "And Andy could have told him something, she was furious and opened her mouth to screw me up… You know, it's against the Lab's Policy…"

"Two members of the same forensic team cannot be engaged in a romantic relationship. I know that, Rodriguez, I've been a CSI, remember?"

"Yeah, that's right… Did you ever have a problem because of you and…?"

"No. While I was here in Vegas, I was a CSI and he was a Detective. Plus, only you and Brass knew about us, so no one ever came to me, or him, to talk about us being together." – Sofia answered but hurried to change the subject. "You're getting paranoid…" – She commented. "Why would he want to talk to you about Nick, precisely in this moment, if you two have been living together for almost a year?"

"Well… You have a point." – Morgan said, after a second.

"Now, you better go… You don't want to piss him off more than he already sounded."

"I couldn't care less about how pissed he is." – She stated. "I have bigger problems to worry about." – She said, sighing, as they left the locker room and walked down the hall to the exit.

"What are you going to do about this? Keep your attitude or talk to him and try to clarify things between the two of you?" – Sofia asked and then went on. "Are you going to stop being so stubborn or are you keep acting like a kid?"

"Me? Stubborn?… Have you looked in the mirror lately, Curtis?" – Morgan shot back.

"It's different."

"It's exactly the same. You have been avoiding talking with Alex for like forever… And you call me stubborn?"

"We didn't just go and slept with each other. We have a history… It's just…different."

"Me and Nick, we didn't just go and slept with each other either…" – Morgan whispered, very dryly. "I better go now." – She said and took off, walking to the parking lot, leaving Sofia alone.

"You did it nice this time, Sofia!" – She criticized herself. "You already know how she is, couldn't you just think before you speak?" – She murmured, turning and randomly walking through the halls. "Dammit!"

Caught in her own thoughts, Sofia wasn't paying any attention to whoever was passing by her on her way. She turned to her right, to the Break Room of the Police Station and suddenly, bumped into someone.

"Oh, God, I'm sorry…" – She started. Looking up, she trailed off and her eyes blinked very quickly. "Alex…"

"Sofia?" – Vartann's face looked very surprised too, as Morgan's had looked before. "What are you doing here?"

----

Nick woke up from a known, pleasant dream, for the first time in over six weeks. Stretching his arm to his left side, he scanned the empty spot on the mattress, next to him. "Morgan…" – He murmured, opening his eyes. Realizing she wasn't there anymore, Nick sat up on the bed, looking around the room. He also understood that it hadn't been a dream: his shirt and his boxers were scattered on the floor, her scent was all over his skin.

His gaze drifted to his watch on the bedside table. Scooping on the bed, Nick reached for it. It was about 10 am. He passed his hand through his hair and down his face. Decided to look for her, Nick got up from the bed and grabbed his boxers, putting them back on and exited his room. "Morgan…" – He called.

The answer was only the silence of the empty apartment. "She's not here…" – Nick murmured. _"You were off today, where did you go?"_

First, she had gone to the Police Station. Now, she was driving to the Crime Lab.

----

Driving through Las Vegas, trying to ignore the roller coaster that her head had turned into, Morgan opened the front windows of the Service SUV and raised the volume of the music. She had connected her Creative Zen to the sound system of the car and set it to pick up the songs randomly. As she stopped on a red light, leaning back on the seat, the player picked up a known song.

"Shit!" – She exclaimed, taking off her sunglasses to look at the screen, to make sure it was really that song that was playing. _"Karma is really a bitch…"_ – She thought to herself. Iron Maiden's 'Ghost of Navigator' live version was echoing in the car. Unconsciously, and as she always did when she heard this song, her hand slid to the volume control button and she moved it up. The words for the chorus of that song, they were so wise and she had sung them herself so many, many times…

"_Take my heart and set it free,  
__Carried forward by the waves.  
Nowhere left to run,  
__Navigator's son,  
Chasing rainbows all my days. _

Where I go, I do not know,  
_I only know the place I've been.  
Dreams they come and go,  
__Ever shall be so,  
Nothing's real until you feel…"_

And they would bring her memories, back from her teenage years, every single time she heard them… Always the same happy, but at the same time angsty, memories.

_(Flashback)_

"_I'm going to have some water__... Want me to get you something?" – She asked. Jordan and Tommy had already left earlier and LJ had just left too. There were just the two of them at the bar now, and since Johnny wouldn't open it that night, they could stay for a little longer, getting everything ready for their live premiere, the next night._

"_No, thanks." – Michael declined, focused on his guitar, briefly touching the strings. She grabbed a bottle of water that rested on the counter and took a sip, her gaze locked on him for a moment. He looked disturbed, worried… They were all stressed out, mainly her, fearing that her voice would fail, but Michael was the only one who would always keep his cool, making all of them relax. "We're the best fucking band that has ever been born in Cameron… We can do this." – He would say, mostly at these latest practices._

_But today it hadn't been like that. And now, that they were alone, she knew that the time had come to question what was going on with him._

"_Don't look at me that way, Lynn." – He said, in a low voice, not even looking up. Damn, he knew her so well. She smiled and walked back to the stage, approaching him. "Michael… is something going on?"_

"_No. I'm just tired. We've practiced the whole afternoon and evening, today. I just need to rest a little."_

"_Maybe it's enough for just one day… Maybe we should go and we'll have tomorrow, the whole day, to finish up with the details." – She suggested, putting down the bottle on the stage floor and stopped in front of him._

"_No..." – He declined. "You can go if you want, but I'm going to stay here. Once Johnny's not open tonight, I'm going to stay and play a little more." – He said, turning to check the tune of the guitar's amplifier._

"_Michael…" – She started._

"_I've said 'No', Lynn…" – He snapped. She didn't move for a moment but then turned on her heels and grabbed her jacket. "Fine. Whatever. As you wish." – She murmured – "I'll see you tomorrow." – She walked to the door, slamming it shut harshly as she left the bar._

_Later that night, Michael sent her a text message, asking her to come down to the backyard of her house. Peeping through the window of her room, she saw him sitting on the swing her father had built up for her, when she was about seven years old. Seeing him sitting there, at three in the morning, had made her forget her anger and reach for a sweater to dress over her top and go downstairs._

"_Lynn… baby, I'm sorry." – He said, as soon as she had approached him. She stood in front of him, silent. "I screwed it up, didn't I?" – He asked._

_After a second, she spoke. "I'm not used to be here… on this side of the discussion. I'm usually the one who screws things up. And you are always there for me, Michael. Always. Without even blinking…" – She said, scooping down in front of him. "And it hurts me, doing that to you. It hurts me, seeing, feeling that you are disturbed, worried about something and watching you refusing to tell me. Refusing to let me be there for you as you've been there for me, all these years."_

_He looked down, almost as if he was embarrassed. "Michael, what's bothering you, baby?"- She asked, again._

"_You're not going to believe it…"_

"_Try me…" – She insisted._

"_I can't play 'Ghost of Navigator's' solo…" – He confessed. "It's been scaring the hell out of me. I can't play it right, I always mess up that one note and if I do that tomorrow, LJ will be all lost on his part and the whole song will be screwed."_

_She had to bit her lip, trying not to laugh. "Michael, you're not serious, are you?"_

"_Of course I am." – He said. "We've already had to adapt it, from three guitars to two… If I mess up the solo, all our work goes down the drain. I don't want to ruin our performance. You've worked so hard for this, baby… All of you."_

_She smiled. __"What?" – He asked, surprised, looking deep into her eyes._

"_You've worked more than all of us together. You've written all our originals, you've adapted about ten songs for us to select which we wanted to play…" – She said. "If you mess up just one note tomorrow, it will be okay. We are all going to screw up sometime, tomorrow, baby… And you, out of all of us, you're the one who's allowed to screw up whenever you want. You've earned it, Michael." – She told him, leaning forward. "You're the heart of our band, baby… we need you to keep us alive…"_

_(End of Flashback)_

The beep sounds of the car behind her make Morgan come back to Earth. Realizing the light had already turned green, she apologized for the delay to the driver of the other car and took off.

Ten minutes later, she had reached the Crime Lab. Ecklie had tried to call her again, since it had been half an hour since he had ordered her to drive there, but she hadn't answered. Pulling her sunglasses back to cover her eyes, she walked out of the car and locked it, while heading to the front doors of the Lab.

"_Here we go…"_ – She said to herself, at the same time she headed to the Break Room, to have some coffee before 'dealing with the monster'.

"Rodriguez!" – Ecklie's voice sounded behind her.

"_Oh __dammit!"_ – She cursed, internally. "I just need a coffee, give me a minute."

"I've given you more fifteen minutes than you were supposed to have. On my office. Now!" – He ordered. Turning on her heels, she walked back to the hall where his office stood.

"I work on the night shift, Conrad, not on the day shift. I'm not even supposed to be here at this time, neither anytime today. Tonight's my night off. What do you want from me?" – She asked.

"We need to talk…" – He answered, evasively. "Get inside."

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_Review, please?_


	31. Chapter 31: Dig

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episode 'Grave Danger' isn't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

_**stoked by stokes-99 - **Thanks. And we have a deal. Here's the update. I'll be waiting for your review._

_**Danica V. - **No need to wait any longer. Here's Ecklie's speech._

_**Samsara Dallire - **Thank you. You can't imagine how much those words mean to me. Thank you very much. Hope you keep enjoying it._

_**EmSyd - **Thank you._

_**jenn - **Thanks. I love cliffies, I can't help but stick them into the story. Here's some more. And this one doesn't end on a cliffie. -smiles-_

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter ****31**

"Sit down." – Ecklie requested, as he lowered himself behind the desk that occupied the most part of the office. Morgan put her bag down on one of the chairs that stood in front of said desk and remained on foot. "I'd rather stay like this."

"Okay then. But this may take a while…" – He warned, searching through some files and folders he had on his desk.

"You said you wanted to talk to me. Shall we go straight to the point, Conrad?" – She inquired.

"Sure. I just got this fax here… I think you'd like to take a little look at it." – He said, stretching a document out to her. She leaned forward, reaching for it.

"What's this?" – She asked.

"Read it."

Morgan's eyes were scanning the first lines of the document when his voice cut off her reading. "Let's cut to the gist… That's the notification that a civil suit is being held against this Crime Lab, specifically against the employee who answers by the name of Morgan Lynn Rodriguez. I guess it's you, isn't it?" – He asked, ironically. "You have anything to say?"

"A civil suit? Who's filling it?" – She asked, dropping the document to the desk.

"Hank Peterson's lawyer. Apparently, you've stalked and accused his client without enough forensic evidences and you've also… hmm, let's say… showed your happiness of him being taken into custody and facing the lethal injection. Isn't that right?"

"Come on, Conrad…" – Morgan started.

"Come on, Conrad, my ass… I don't know who told you that you could act as you wished in this Lab, but things don't work like that here. I'm the Assistant-Director. Anything that happens, any civil suit that's filled against this Lab, has to be immediately reported to the Sheriff and you know what Rodriguez? I'm the one who has to deal with him."

"Oh, and I'm the first person on this Lab to get a civil suit? Don't try to sell me that lie because I won't buy it!"

"I read Detective Vartann's report, Morgan!" – He snapped, standing up. "I know how you talked to Hank Peterson. I know how you shoved his face against the table and ripped his hair off. I know that he was in the room without a lawyer."

"Yeah. So what? Was this the first time something like that happened in an interrogation? You know as well as I do that it wasn't. His lawyer complains about it, he files a suit, so what? I don't care. If it wasn't for me taking that action, Peterson would still be out there and maybe I would have had to analyse more crime scenes with victims like Chelsea Riley."

"You don't care? Oh, you don't care!" – Ecklie repeated. "Would you care if it was your job on the line?"

"Are you threatening me?"

"Take this as you want. I'm sick of your attitude, Rodriguez. Grissom may be soft on you because of your skills, but I know a bunch of people who would kill to be where you are. And if you don't like working here, if you don't like following the rules and the procedures, well… You better start looking for another job."

"Show me one person, just **one** person who has my age and is better than me at this. Just one, Conrad… the moment you show me someone that's better than me, I'm out of here. Until then, let me tell you that I'm just trying to do my job, man… I analyse evidence to bust criminals, preferably for life. And I've sworn, the first day that I started working here in Vegas, that I'd do anything, everything in my power, to be able to achieve that purpose. You don't like my way of acting? Deal with it… You're stuck with me until you find a good reason, not just a civil suit, to fire me." – She challenged. As he didn't answer, they locked their eyes with each other for some minutes. In the end, it was Ecklie who moved his eyes away first.

"You're suspended for undetermined time. I'll have to discuss your situation with your supervisor and the Sheriff. We'll decide what to do, but until then you're not stepping a foot on this Crime Lab."

"Sure. I was in need of a little vacation time anyways. Can I go now?" – She questioned.

"No, we're not done yet." – Ecklie said.

She put her bag back down on the chair. "And?"

"It has come to my ears, a long time ago, that you and Stokes are living together." – He started and Morgan felt her heart skip a beat. "Is there something going on between the two of you?"

"No."

"Come on, don't play me. I don't like this any more than you do. Are you and Stokes involved?" – He asked again.

"No, Conrad, we're not. I just moved to his apartment because I was kicked out of mine and he offered me his spare room, for me to sleep until I find an apartment of my own. I'm moving out soon, I hope. I've been searching for houses but I haven't had much time, ever since his abduction. Satisfied?"

"Careful with your tone, Rodriguez…"

"Next time you want to know something about me or my life, Conrad, try not to listen to all the gossips that circle around this building and ask me directly, would you? I don't like having people talking about my life and I'm tired of this whole 'Morgan and Nick' thing. We just live in the same house, there's nothing to add."

Ecklie remained silent. "You want anything else?" – She questioned, impatiently.

"No. That's it. You can go. I'll talk to Grissom and then you'll hear something from me again. Until then, you're out of here."

Morgan grabbed her bag and looked back deep into his eyes. "People leave this job every single day because of guys like you, Ecklie… and you should think that only the criminals win with that. Not you, not this Lab, not Las Vegas…" With this, she turned on her heels, storming out of his office, without pronouncing anything further.

----

Nick walked out of his room, after taking a shower and getting dressed, and headed for the hall. As he was buttoning up his light blue shirt, the picture that rested on the counter, near the place where he had left his wallet and his car keys, caught his attention. It had been taken somewhere back in Spring, at the doorstep of the Crime Lab. Greg had thought that the whole scenario would look cute and since he was returning from a crime scene and he had his camera with him, he had insisted to take that picture.

_(Flashback)_

"_Come on, guys…" – Greg insisted. "You've been living together; it would look nice if you had a picture of the two of you, on your apartment."_

"_Sanders!" – Morgan and Nick said at the same time. "It's not like we're together or something." – She completed._

"_I know. But still… come on, guys… I have one picture left on this one, let me take you a picture."_

_Morgan sighed and Nick turned to her. "You know, he's not going to give up until we let them take the damn picture."_

_She nodded. "__ Just one picture, Sanders. Just one!"_

_Greg smiled. "Okay. Come closer guys. Morgan, take off your sunglasses."__ – He asked. She rolled her eyes and moved the sunglasses to the top of her head. "Just a little smile now… Three, two, one…" – He counted. "Okay, there you go."_

_Morgan moved the sunglasses back down to cover her eyes and finished her cigarette. "Did it hurt that much?" – Greg asked._

_She turned her face to him. "If__ someone other than us sees that picture, Greg… you better start running now." – She warned. "And no, it didn't hurt..." – She thought to herself, as she dropped the remains of the cigarette to the floor._

_(End of Flashback)_

She was wearing a tight black t-shirt that said, _"Don't tell me to go to Hell… I just got back!" _in red characters and a pair of grey jeans. She had her sunglasses on the top of her head, her hair pulled back in a loose half-ponytail, as usual, and a cigarette on her left hand. A little smile was shinning on her lips, as Nick, on her side, looking very tidy in his white shirt and casual jeans had shown one of his big Texan smiles to the camera. Once Greg had given her the picture, she had showed it to Nick and they had just put it there, on the place where they left their keys and cell phones and pagers and other personal stuff. It rested between the home phone and the place where Morgan kept her extra cigarette packs and chewing gums.

Nick picked up the picture to look at it more closely. She was smiling but it was still a very shy smile. It was so hard to make her smile, for real, and to make her laugh was even harder. Nick wondered if she had always been like this or if something had happened that had made her be this cold and distant. His bet was on door number two: he was almost sure that something had happened to her, back on her hometown. It had to be related to that date that she had tattooed on her body. It must have been something really serious and probably concerning her family since he had barely ever heard her talk about them and ever since she had been in Vegas, she had never gone back home, even if it was just for a weekend.

He was caught by his thoughts about his housemate and what had happened between them the previous night until his cell phone started ringing, a few minutes later.

"Stokes." – He answered, distractedly, still staring at the picture.

It was Warrick. "Hey man… Did I wake you?"

"No, no, I was just…" – Nick trailed off when he noticed something. A little detail that hadn't crossed his mind until that moment.

"Nick?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here. You were saying?" – He asked, focusing back on the call.

"I was thinking about having a bite on Frankie's before work today. You in?"

"Yeah, sure. Look Warrick… do you know if Morgan's married?" – He asked. He had just noticed that ring, that silver ring that she wore everyday on her right hand. He hadn't remembered that yet. _"She wasn't wearing it last night…"_ – He said to himself.

"Married? No, I don't think so… But still, I don't know much about her personal life. Why do you ask that?" – Warrick inquired, thinking that Nick's conversation wasn't making any sense. "Are you alright, man?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking… never mind. I'll meet you at Frankie's. Later." – He said concisely and hung up. Dropping the cell phone on the counter, Nick pondered the consequences of their actions. "Please, don't let her be married…" – He wished.

**(Later)**

"Are you serious?" – Warrick asked.

"Warrick, do I look like I'm joking?" – Nick asked. "Only this morning, when I was talking to you on the phone, I noticed it. She always wears that ring. Always. What if she's married?"

"And we wouldn't have known that yet? I mean… she's been living with you. She hasn't left Las Vegas, not even for Christmas. You went to Texas but she stayed here. We barely hear her talking about her family. Could she be married and we don't that? I don't think so."

Nick sighed. "What do I do now?"

Warrick took a sip of his coffee. "I seriously doubt that she's married. So, go for it. You like her?"

"I don't know… it's complicated, Warrick."

"Well, I don't know why I asked. It's written all over your face, man. You can admit it to me or you can lie and say you don't like her, but I won't change my opinion about it." – Warrick said. "I know you, Nick."

He got up and paced a little around the Break Room. "What if I do like her?" – He asked.

"You fight for her. She's tough, man, but she's not impossible to reach. And you've managed to bound with her pretty well. You don't have anything stopping you, Nick, come on…"

"I have Ecklie…"

"What he doesn't know, can't hurt him." – Warrick interrupted him. "You two are living together, I bet he already knows that. If you keep acting professionally at work, you can date in private and no one needs to know. Except me, of course…"

"What if she's indeed married or just, at least, committed? It could be just a commitment ring, you know? She wears it on her right hand…"

Warrick got up and walked to Nick's front. "If she's married or committed or whatever, you drop off the subject, lift your head up and move on. Come on, Nick, you've been there, you've done this before. You and I, we know the drill…"

"If this is for real, Warrick… I guess it's not like any of the other times before…" – Nick said. "I've been trying to deny it but I can't keep that lie anymore. You know, when I was down there, the only thought that stopped me from pulling the trigger much sooner was the hope that you guys would come looking for me, that she would… be there and take me off that nightmare and just, you know… just _be_ there, with me." – He confessed, making Warrick be wordless for a couple of seconds. Never until that moment had Nick talked to him about what had happened to him a month and a half before. Warrick could barely imagine what it had been for his friend to be buried six feet under.

He coughed to clear his voice. "So go for it, man. What the hell are you waiting for? You want her? You go and fight for her. You pick up your cell phone and call her. You guys gotta talk things up."

"Yeah, you're right…" – Nick nodded, reaching for his cell phone. Hitting speed dial number 2, he waited for her to pick. The phone rang, rang and rang.

**(Down at the Police Station, on the basement, in the Weapon Training Room)**

"Now, you try not being much noticed okay? You're suspended, you shouldn't be here." – Brass warned.

"Okay. Thanks, Jim. I really need to fire some bullets." – Morgan said. "Ecklie drives me insane and you can't expect me to go home and stay there the whole day."

"Yeah, that's right. That would be a waste. If you need anything, just page me." – Brass said, turning around to return to his office. Morgan nodded briefly and walked to the last spot. She put down her cell phone and pager on the table and reached for a pair of ear protections and glasses. Just as she was about to start shooting, her phone begun vibrating against the table. Relieving one of her ears, she picked it up, reading the caller ID. It said 'N. Stokes'.

"Not now, Nick…" – She murmured. "Not now."

And she put the phone back down on the table, letting it ring for a while until, on the other side, Nick cancelled the call.

----

"_Hey. You've reached Morgan Rodriguez. At the moment, I can't answer the phone. Please, leave a message and I'll call you back."_

"She's not answering."- Nick spoke, as he cancelled the call and slid the phone back to his pocket.

"She'll answer…" – Warrick said. "Don't worry. She's off tonight, right? Probably she didn't hear the phone ring or something. Try again later… Or wait until you get home and talk to her then."

"It's better that way. This is not something to discuss over the phone." – Nick stated. "We'll talk later."

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_Review, please?_


	32. Chapter 32: Say Goodbye

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episode 'Grave Danger' isn't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

_**EmSyd - **Thanks. Here it is._

_**Stoked by Stokes-99 - **Thanks a lot for the review. Glad you like it. Here's another chapter. Hope your bestie is better. -smiles-_

_**PadFootCc - **I'm very thankful for your review. Hope you keep enjoying reading my little piece and you keep reviewing too. Here's some more. Soon enough?_

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**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter 32**

After that shift, Nick headed home, hoping that Morgan would be there already so that they could talk and settle things down between the two of them, concerning what that had happened the night before and how would it be from that moment on. He parked the car in front of the building where they lived and saw the service SUV she had been using lately parked a few blocks out front.

Only when he was turning the key on the lock, Nick's stomach started twisting with nervousness. He realized he had no idea at all how Morgan would react and what would she want to do, where would they stand from now on. And that just scared him a little, because, putting his feelings aside, they were great friends and, at least, Nick wanted to try and fight to maintain that status as intact as possible.

Dropping his keys and wallet on the counter, Nick took off his jacket and entered the living room where a deafening music was echoing. A rusty voice was singing, with a perfect guitar following it. Morgan was by the window, leaning over her elbows and forearms and apparently hadn't noticed his presence yet. Nick walked to the HI-FI and turned down the volume. She turned to the inside. "Oh Nick… I hadn't noticed you were there." – She said, not moving and looking back to the outside.

He approached and leaned on the window, next to her. "I just arrived. I didn't want to scare you, I just moved down the volume, for you not to be startled with my presence here, all of a sudden, on your side, like I had just teleported or something."

"It was too loud, wasn't it?" – She asked. "It was for me to be able to hear it, here, on the outside."

"It wasn't. Except when he was screaming."

"M. Shadows doesn't scream, Nick." – She corrected. "At least, not like he used to. And thank God, cause I wouldn't be able to listen to them if he still screamed. That would be a shame. I don't like much screamo stuff."

"Who are they?"

"Avenged Sevenfold. Other of my top favourite bands. They're still young, they're about my age, but the lead guitarist, Synyster Gates, is so impressive. He is completely amazing. I went to their concert, on my first month here in Vegas. One advantage of having moved to this city."

They fell silent for a moment. Nick counted down from ten, trying to gain courage to speak, while she kept her gaze fixed somewhere in space. "I… I tried to call you, today."

"I know, I'm sorry. I was at the basement of the Police Station and I didn't hear the phone ring." – She said, evasively, not looking at him.

"It's okay…" – He said. "Morgan…. We need to talk."

"I got suspended today, for an undetermined time." – She blurted out, trying to fight against his wish of talking about them. "Ecklie says I'm not stepping a foot on the Crime Lab until he says so."

"Why? What happened?" – He asked. He had understood she was trying to escape their serious talk and he played along, leaving it for later, letting her talk about whatever she wanted to first.

"Hank Peterson's lawyer filled a civil suit against me. Ecklie got all mad about it, as if I'm the first one, and he said I'm suspended until further notice and that he's going to reunite with Grissom, to discuss my 'situation'." – She said.

"Hank who?" – He asked.

"Guy's name is Hank Peterson. I worked this case with Greg about a month ago or less. A car hit a girl. The typical 'hit and run' stuff. But she showed signs of violence, like she had struggled with someone prior to her death."

"And why's this suit for?" – Nick insisted, a grin on his face. "You did something to the guy, didn't you?"

"Come on, I was interrogating him, with Greg and Vartann. He wasn't answering and decided to comment on me. I just _made_ him give us the reference hair sample we needed." – She explained. "And not only am I suspended as Ecklie also implied that my position on the Lab may be compromised and on the line here."

"He threatened you?" – Nick sounded shocked and almost angry. "He can't do that, Morgan; you have to talk to Grissom or Brass about it."

"Yes, he can. He's been dying to fire me ever since my first day at the Lab. It just kills him that it was Brass who hired me, so he can't just go and pull me off the team. He has been waiting for me to do something like this, I know it. And today he said that he's going to talk to Grissom about me. I'm almost like 'forbidden' to go to the Lab." – Morgan couldn't avoid a little sadness on her voice as she stated this fact.

"It won't be for long, I'm sure." – Nick said, trying to cheer her up, giving her shoulder a little caress. As if she had been hit by something, Morgan smoothly moved away from his touch, feeling uncomfortable.

As she did so, Nick sighed. "Okay… we definitely need to talk about what happened last night." – He stated, stepping back.

"Nick…" – She started. "I don't want to talk about it!"

"Morgan, you're running from me. What the hell is happening between us?" – He asked.

"Nothing's happening."

"Come on, let's cut this shit and go straight to the point, shall we?" – He proposed- "Last night, what happened between us…"

She interrupted him, stating. "What happened between us last night was a mistake. That's the bottom line. Period. End of subject." – She insisted, walking away from the window, and from him, to the place where she had left her cigarettes. As she held the lighter, Nick noticed her hand was trembling uncontrollably. She had never smoked inside their apartment before (only two or three times, always in her room and by the window) but Nick didn't say anything about it this time.

"A mistake? And that's it?" – He questioned, a little sample of disappointment noticeable in his voice, as Morgan sat down on the couch, supporting her elbows on her knees, the cigarette on her right hand.

His disappointment echoed like a thunderstorm inside her head. Morgan hated to hear disappointment in the voice of people who were closer to her. She just couldn't stand the thought that she could have let them down in any way. "Nick… last night just shouldn't have happened." – She paused for a moment, taking a breath before going on. He walked to the couch and sat down by her side. "I don't know how to handle this. We're friends, not lovers…" – She trailed off.

"You know, someone once made me hear a song where the guy said something like _'Tomorrow we go back to being friends but tonight let's be lovers.'_" – He said. "And I would say the rest of the poem, but I don't actually remember it all. You know it better than me."

Morgan was speechless. How did he remember that she had made him listen precisely to **that** song? And to bring it here, now?

"God, Nick…" – She said, still a little dizzy from the impact of his memory. "It's not as simple, dammit!" – She snapped, getting up, trying to run away from him again. It was hurting her so much to push him away from her. "You've been having a hard time; you needed comfort and a friendly shoulder to lean on. Can't you understand it? I'm your friend. I'm here to support you, not to go all irrational when you need me and just let myself go."

"Okay, slow down a bit, Morgan, I'm not following you."

"We're great friends, Nick. We've been living together. We work together. And now, last night, because we let ourselves drown in a melting pot of emotions, we had sex and…"

"We made love." – He corrected calmly, interrupting her. She turned to him again. "We didn't have sex, we made love. It's different."

"Here in this case, it's not. The consequences are the same. It was irrational!"

"Okay, let's just clear something. I knew exactly what I was doing, Morgan." – He said, getting up too.

"Well, I didn't." – She answered, dryly. "It should have never happened and I don't know how it's going to be, for us, from now on."

"Was it so awful that you regret it that much?" – He asked, rubbing his forehead.

"Nick, come on…"

"No, really. You're all about 'It shouldn't have happened' like it was just your fault. You said I needed you. Yes, I did. I needed you last night. But I didn't need just your shoulder to lean on or just your arms to hold me or just your voice to whisper comforting words to me. I needed _you_, and you whole. I needed you to make me feel alive again. This sounds awful, I know… But it's the truth."

"You don't understand, do you?" – She asked. "We may have just ruined our friendship because of… I don't know how to deal with this, Nick!"

They were silent for a couple of seconds. Nick sat back down on the couch, twisting his hands. "Did… Did I make you do anything that you didn't want to? Is that it?" – He asked, his voice in a murmur. Morgan looked down to the floor. It was as if his question had hit her like a knife. Was she really making him think that?

"God, Nick, no…I know you would never do something like that, I didn't mean to make you believe you had. You didn't… make me do anything." – She said. She walked and sat back on his side. "You know, it's just… I'm not used to deal with this. I have this life code, this balanced equation. Mind, body and soul, you know?" – Her voice was trembling a little; Nick had understood that she was really nervous. "And for me, my body is sacred… It's complicated, I can't talk about it right now, it's just… complicated." – She said, her eyes fixed on the silver ring on her right hand.

He took a deep breath - "What we had last night wasn't just physical and the result of an irrational moment, as you say. I felt something last night because of you. I know now that only you could have made me felt alive again, like I feel now."

She said nothing. She didn't know what to say. Nick paused for a moment, before going on. "I'm really glad that it was you who were with me, all this time. And last night, when I kissed you, I just can't describe what I felt, Morgan…"

"Please, Nick, stop…" – She whispered, turning to him. Before she could avoid it, their eyes were locked again and she lost herself in the feeling she saw in his gaze. His face got closer and closer, she was leaning forward too and mere seconds later, their lips met in a sweet kiss. Nick moved closer to her and his arm went up to the back of her head, exploring her, letting the desire and all the feelings she had built inside him take over his rational side.

After a minute or two, Morgan was once again brought back to reality. She pulled away from him, from his body and his feelings, her own lips swollen and her heartbeat racing.

She looked at him for a couple of moments before getting up, wordlessly, and walking to the door. Not saying anything, she reached for her jacket and her bag and left the apartment.

Nick had frozen, staring at her as she left, not being able to stop her. As she closed the door behind her, he let himself fall back into the couch.

"Shit!"

* * *

After having bumped into each other that morning, in one hall of the Police Station, Vartann had finally given the first step and asked Sofia for a coffee. They really needed to talk things out between the two of them too.

The coffee invitation had turned to a dinner and then a walk through Las Vegas. When they had reached the door of her apartment, Vartann had wished her a goodnight and kissed her cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow, Sofia." – He said and turned around to leave. She called him and he turned back. "Wait…"

She took two steps forward approaching him again. "Can we give _us_ one more shot?"

He didn't react to her question right away. A little smile formed on his lips as he nodded. Leaning forward, he whispered "Yes." before kissing her briefly and then walking away.

Now, she was sitting on her couch, thinking about their conversation, when the doorbell rang. Looking at her watch, she got up and headed to the door. "Who can it be at this time of the night?" – She questioned herself.

When she opened the door, she saw Morgan's disturbed face at her doorstep. "Rodriguez? What are you doing here?"

She swallowed the lump on her throat. "Can… Can I stay here tonight?"

_

* * *

__I HATE THIS CHAPTER!! It's awful and not like I wanted it to be, at all, but I've been so tired and busy lately that everything that I write doesn't worth shit. Sorry about this crappiest chapter ever._

_Review (still), please?_


	33. Chapter 33: Secrets Don't Make Friends

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episode 'Grave Danger' isn't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

**A/N:** Okay people, I'm back. I took some vacations from this plot and it proved to be very good to me. Now, I'm feeling refreshed and I'm back on track. I love to write this story too much to just go and quit it, that was my conclusion. So what if I work my head off for it to be perfect and it isn't? Too bad, at least, I'm trying... Hope you like this new chapter and keep walking this journey, step by step, at my side. And thanks a lot to **Veze** for his/her supporting review and **foxdvd** (who else?) for advising me. Thank you very much!

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter ****33**

"There." – Sofia said, stretching a mug to Morgan and sitting on the couch, by her side. "I made you some lemon tea; it will make you feel better."

"Thanks." – Morgan accepted the mug and drank a little. "I don't want to bother you, Sofia, I'll be out of here by tomorrow."

"You can stay the time you want…"

"But…" – Morgan pointed, with a small grin on her lips, as she drank a little more. "I sense a 'but' coming on that sentence."

Sofia smiled. "Not only I think you're acting wrong here in this situation, but that's only my opinion, as I'm sorry that you'll have to sleep on the couch, because I don't have any other place."

"Oh, it's okay, it's perfect... And I must confess that I really don't know what I'm doing… I'm just confused, Sofia."

"It's understandable, Morgan, and you know I'm your friend but I have to tell you… I don't understand you."

"I've been acting like a fucked-up fourteen-year-old kid lately, haven't I?" – Morgan asked, embarrassed, staring at her reflection on the soft liquid that she was gently balancing on the mug.

"Yeah, pretty much…" – Sofia agreed, with a smile, as she leant back on the couch. "But since I'm here now, I can slap you right in the face again when you act like that and open your eyes to reality, so there's not much problem about it… If I were you, I'd only start worrying about that if I wasn't here…"

Morgan laughed. Just that moment, she realized how much all those nights she had spent with her group, back in Cameron, while she was a teenager, had meant to her. And how much she missed those guys… LJ, Tommy, Jordan, Peyton… if they were there now, they would be acting like Sofia was. It was so good to have someone that was close to us, which would correct our mistakes. It was so good to have a friend near by…

For the first time in some years, Morgan realized that she had to let people move inside her life. And she was very thankful that, when she had finally opened herself a little more, Sofia had gotten in the middle.

Sofia and Nick. That moment, Morgan understood how much those two meant to her. It was time to open the door a little more. Sofia worthed it. She had already proved her that many times.

"Well… I think that the time has come for me to tell you the story of my life, Sofia…" – She stated. Taking the silver ring off her finger and putting in down on the table in front of the couch, she started speaking, for the first time, about that subject that she had avoided to think (and to feel) all those years. "This was given to me by the most perfect, admirable and respectful man I've ever met… And it's the only thing I've left of him. His name was Michael Santiago Cruz."

**(The Next Day)**

Brass walked through the doors of the Lab, his steps determined, and headed for Ecklie's office. A cup of coffee in his left hand, the Detective was a bit pissed off. Well, _a bit_ was an understatement. Through the twenty-seven years he had already spent in this profession, he had hired many people. Some of them had been imposed to him, some others he had had to impose them to the guys leading the Police ship.

Morgan Rodriguez had been one of those cases. Despite the average résumé, there was something on the look of the young girl's eyes that had made the Detective melt inside and feel that she was the right addition to the Lab.

He had stood up for all the people he had hired through all these years, imposed or not. And for the first time, with Morgan, he had stood up and been questioned about his ability to manage the department he was in charge of. And that hadn't made him happy… not even a little bit.

Reaching Ecklie's office, Brass knocked, only for politeness, as he was already entering the office as he got his answer from the inside.

"Jim Brass." – Ecklie saluted. "First time you come to my new office. What is the reason for such an honourable visit?"

Brass put down the cup on the desk and spoke. "What is your problem with the people that I hire?"

"Oh… you're here to talk about Rodriguez… I see." – Ecklie commented with an ironic smile.

"I hired her in a time that this Lab needed more people. The Sheriff himself asked me to select someone and I did and I hired her. You weren't the Assistant-Director back then, you were just a sloppy day-shift supervisor, so you don't get to go over me on what concerns Morgan. You suspended her?!"

"Let me update you on something, Jim. When I was promoted to Assistant- Director of the Crime Lab, the Sheriff gave me full access to all employees' files and I have his approval to manage this department, so yes, I do get to go over you in what concerns Morgan." – Ecklie revealed. "Moreover, the complaint she was targeted with, was headed to me, so yes, it is my business and yes, I did suspend her. Hell, I wouldn't even have hired her in first place."

"Are you questioning my ability to select people? That's what you're implying here…"

"Me? No. I wouldn't do that, Jim… I'm just pointing out a flaw on the amazingly, awesome work you've done on the behalf on the city of Las Vegas through these years. Morgan Rodriguez is not a good addition to this Lab, or to the city…"

"You know as well as I do that she's great at what she does. If you go interview kids coming straight out of college for this job, you won't find anyone as workaholic and as absorbed by what we do as her. There's pure, raw talent running in Rodriguez' veins, you can see that when you're with her at a crime scene or in an Interrogation Room. Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot… you were never with her in any of those situations."

"Jim…"

"She does this job with more passion that you ever had. Hell, you and much of this Lab's workers; through these years I've been here and even when I was in Jersey, I've seen very few people as passionate and dedicated to what they do as Morgan. And she's only twenty-three, Conrad…"

"She threatens people to get reference samples. She shoved a suspect's face into a table to rip his hairs off! She almost tore Gordon's daughter's head off during her interrogation, one interrogation she wasn't even participating in…"

"She helped catching Stephen McCarter; she prevented him from killing more girls, by risking her own life. She was shot in the line of duty, it was just a lucky strike she didn't got hit."

"That doesn't erase all the rules she's crossed through this year… When people see her, when she goes to court or is seen in a public crime scene, what do you think that people think and feel when they see a CSI full of tattoos and with more holes in her ears than all the women that work in this Lab, altogether?"

"This is personal, isn't it?" – Brass accused, realizing for the first time what _really_ was Ecklie's problem with Morgan. "You're scared of people may think. You don't care about the efficiency of the Lab; you only care about the image… For Christ's sake, Conrad! You can't judge someone's capacity by their personal tastes or by their looks. Have you looked at Greg Sanders?"

"It is different!"

"Why? Because he only wears is hair up once in a while? Because he doesn't have any visible tattoos or something?"

"Because he doesn't cross the line like she did!"

"We've all had our complaints and unsatisfied lawyers and stuff like that. It's something that happens to everyone. If I recall correctly, you had a few complaints of your own, when you were in the field. This is Morgan's first civil suit. She's probably just going to get to pay some money and keep her hands off Hank Peterson until his trial. Why making such a big deal about it?"

"Because it is a big deal. Do you think the Sheriff is satisfied when he looks at his desk and sees a pile of civil complaints and suits against the state workers? No, he's not satisfied at all and newsflash, Jim: if he's not satisfied with the workers of this Lab, he's coming after me!"

"So, you're putting your personal interest in have a calm career on this position above this town's safety?"

"Jim… you're about to cross the line over here." – Ecklie warned, standing up. "Why the hell are you defending Rodriguez this much anyway?"

"She was the best thing that happened to this Lab in a long time and I won't let your prejudice nor your vanity ruin that."

"I'll reunite with Grissom in a little while and we'll discuss the best way to end this situation. If Rodriguez is staying or not, that will be my decision. You're off this 'case', Jim. Go take care of your Detectives and police officers downtown."

Grissom strolled through the Break Room, definitely in a hurry. "Hey guys. You're all here? Good. Nick, you're going back to the field tonight, right? We've a hand full tonight and I have to go meet Ecklie… in about…" – He checked his watch – "Two minutes."

"Hold on, Morgan's missing…" – Greg pointed.

"Morgan's suspended." – Both Grissom and Nick said, at the same time.

"What?" – Catherine asked. Her surprised tone expressed aloud the stunned looks of the other team members. "Why?"

"Yeah. That's why I'm heading to Ecklie's office. We need to discuss her situation... I think he wants me to fire her." – Grissom confessed. "I still don't know what happened, but I think she got a civil suit or something like that. He's going to present me the details now."

"You're not going to fire her, are you, Grissom?" – Nick asked, a little fearful of what Grissom's answer would be. He knew, almost a hundred per cent sure, that If she was fired, Morgan would move to another town. She had confess that to him, once, while there were grabbing a bite in a trailer, parked in mid-street, on a little break from their case.

_(Flashback)_

"_You know…" – She started, paying attention, trying not to drop the hotdog the man had just given her. "I don't know if I could be here in Vegas for so long as you've been… You've moved here, what, seven, eight years ago?"_

"_Nine years. I was around twenty-five at the time." – Nick answered. "Why do you say that?"_

"_I don't know, I'm just saying, you know… I think I kind of like to change place, once in a while. Not to stay much time in the same place, trying not to get memories and roots… But never mind me, I was just thinking…"_

"_You think about moving to another town?" – Nick asked, looking deep into her eyes. Morgan felt a little disturbed by the intensity of his gaze and, after a few seconds, drifted her eyes away from his._

"_No, no… not yet, anyway. I like Vegas and I'm loving being here. I was just talking, you know…"_

_(End of Flashback)_

"Of course I don't want to fire her, but Ecklie calls the shots now…"

"Come on… that guy already broke us off!" – Warrick contested, a bit irritated. "Is he trying to control the whole Lab or what?"

"Okay people, I need you to focus on work now okay? I'll have to go meet him now… Don't worry about Morgan, I have her covered, I think…" – Grissom said.

"We need her with the team, Gil…" – Catherine said to him, in a low tone as they were, each one, walking off to focus on their own cases. "You have to make Ecklie see that…"

"I'll try, Cath…"

"And you will succeed, I'm sure." – She said, with a smile, giving his shoulder a little squeeze. "You're so much better than Ecklie, that position should be yours."

"I hate politics. My passion is science and puzzles. Plus, I suck at politics."

"Oh, that… You sure do, my friend." – She agreed, walking away from him. Grissom smiled.

"It's good to have you all back again." – He said, quietly, to himself.

* * *

_Review, please? :)_


	34. Chapter 34: Brompton Cocktail

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episode 'Grave Danger' isn't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

**A/N:** Here I am, back on track with my average chapter-lenght and so. School's almost over. I've been thinking a lot about the story, I just haven't had much time to write, but little by little, I've been able to walk a little further. Hope you keep enjoying it.

_**Samsara Dallire - **Thank you very much. I appreciated your review a lot. Here's some more, hope you like it._

_**EmSyd - **Thank you._

_**shadysgurl15 - **Thank you. Here's the update._

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter ****34**

"So, Ecklie…" – Grissom started. "What did Morgan do this time?"

"According to Detective Vartann's report and Hank Peterson's lawyer, Morgan shoved the suspect's face to the table and ripped some of his hairs off, abruptly, without a warrant."

"Hmm, I see…" – Grissom pondered. "And that lawyer filled a complaint against her, that's why she got suspended?"

"No, that's the point, Grissom. It wasn't a simple complaint… He's filled a civil suit against Morgan, which affects the whole Lab, Gil…"

"But you suspended her for that, Conrad? It's not the first time someone has a suit against them in this Lab and I don't recall any other that got suspended besides Morgan…"

"I don't like her attitude, Grissom. She was insubordinate with me and, honestly, you and I both know all too well that this wasn't the first time Rodriguez acted this aggressively and rudely to a suspect."

"Are you talking about Kelly Gordon?" – Grissom inquired.

"Yes, I'm talking about Kelly Gordon!" – Ecklie answered, visibly irritated. "I may take this chance and ask you why the hell you never reported that situation to me. I'm the Assistant-Director and you're Morgan's active supervisor. You should report to me everything that happens with your team. Everything!"

"If I never reported that to you, how do you know what happened in there?"

"I must know everything. She wasn't even participating in Kelly's interrogation and she just stormed in there and grabbed her and threatened her. That's not a justifiable attitude, Grissom!"

"She was nervous. Hell, we all were. Nick was missing, he was buried somewhere only her father knew and Walter had just killed himself! Isn't that justifiable due to the circumstances?" – Grissom questioned. "She has a temper and she's young, too young to go over something like this. She did what Warrick, Sara or even Catherine would do… But they're older, they've been on the job and dealt with things over the years that made them grow up and control themselves. She hasn't, this was her first 'high-pressure' case, if you can call it that. She's the eldest of my team… There are some things she can't avoid, Conrad. Yet..."

"If she was that affected, she should just pass it over and not work on that case, Gil… I can't justify her actions, to the Sheriff, based on age or pressure levels. Maybe in Kelly Gordon's situation I could, but not in this one, Grissom, you know I can't. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I talked to her two days after that episode and we've cleared things up."

_(Flashback)_

"_Morgan knocked on the door twice, sticking her head inside Grissom's office, before asking "Hey Griss. You... Hmm... Wanted to talk to me?"_

"_Oh, Morgan… Yeah, come on in, please. How's Nick?" – He asked, as the girl walked over and sat on one of the chairs that stood in front of his desk._

"_He's okay, I guess…. H__e was released from the Hospital this morning and his parents came by the apartment in the afternoon, before I left to work." – Morgan answered. "They're going to stay there tonight and their plane is leaving tomorrow, at lunch time."_

_Grissom nodded. "How's he holding up?" – He questioned, concerned about his health and safety. When Walter Gordon had blown himself, leaving them with nothing, Grissom had felt so powerless, so desperate. Fortunately, they had been able to turn the situation and trick the odds and managed to get to Nick in time to rescue him alive._

"_I don't know. It's hard to say yet, actually… He wasn't much talkative this couple of days he spent on the Hospital, of course. I think he hasn't realized actually, really what happened to him, he's still a bit in shock. And, of course, the nights were the worst."_

"_Nightmares." – Grissom stated._

"_Nightmares." – Morgan nodded, with a sigh. "It's awful, Grissom. He's barely slept. He refused to take the sedative but somewhere down the middle of the night, I had always to ask the nurses to give him the damn thing, otherwise he would wake up every like twenty minutes, squirming and groaning, scared as hell…"_

_They remained silent for a few seconds. Morgan was recalling Nick's scared expression, her memory sending cold chills down her spine every time. "Oh, and I wanted to thank you for giving me these two days off, to be with him. Thank you!"_

"_You don't need to thank me, Morgan. I thought it was better for him to have someone there, near him, after all that happened and you were the perfect choice. You two are great friends, very close, I know that… and you needed a couple of days out of this Lab, after these two frantic weeks you had. But that wasn't what I wanted to talk to you about…"_

"_Oh. Sure." – She said, straightening up in the chair. "Shoot, Griss."_

"_It's about you… and Kell--…"_

"… _and Kelly Gordon…" – She concluded, cutting him off. "Sara told you."_

"_Actually, it was Brass. He was worried when you stormed out of the Interrogation Room. He and Vartann when to look for you but they didn't find you anywhere so he came to me." - Grissom told her. "You can't lose it that way, Morgan."_

_She looked down, embarrassed. "I know… I just lost it, Griss. I was restless, nervous. I felt powerless just watching the interrogation and not being able to do a damn thing to help Nick. I barely worked to try to get him back… I just made things worse. Today, when I look back, I realize I didn't help a bit. Brass put Vartann babysitting me, Grissom… What can be clearer than that? I wasn't rational, I had lost hope and I was totally out of myself. I thought I could compartmentalize my emotions, but I can't. Not that way, at least… I screwed it up, big time."_

"_You were supportive, Morgan. You're his housemate, it's a different situation. You live with Nick almost 24/7, it's acceptable and understandable that you were that affected. Don't be too hard on yourself; this was probably your first 'high-pressure' situation, right?"_

"_No, it wasn't." – She thought, to herself. "I'm a specialist in screwing 'high-pressure' situations, Griss… I always freak out and that's the thing I hate the most…" – She said, still to herself. "I've been under pressure before Grissom, I should have known better. When I look at Nick, now, I see that's he's here not because of me, but because of you, guys. I didn't do a damn decent thing to get him back… And I lost it that way, when Kelly Gordon stated that she hoped Nick would die and Brass and Sara did nothing, because, somewhere deep inside me, somewhere I didn't know it existed, I felt that I couldn't let anyone say it or hope it would happen cause I couldn't live with that. If Nick had died…"_

"_But he didn't, Morgan…"_

"_Please, let me finish…" – She asked. He had gotten her to speak about the burden that she had been carrying since that day, she hadn't even said it to Sofia, and now she just needed to finish. "If Nick had died, I could never live with myself, letting my fears and nerves take over me and stopping me to think straight and act. I can't let that happen again… ever."_

_Grissom stood speechless. Who was this Morgan, so little, so fragile, so different from the CSI Rodriguez he had been working with for about a year? For the first time, she was showing a little sign that, indeed, she wasn't as cold as she wanted the others to think and this was so unexpected that he didn't know how to react. Definitely, people were not his forte. But he had to do something._

"_Hey… It's okay, Morgan. I understand and everyone here does too. And Nick will understand too, if he ever gets to know that. I didn't want to make you feel bad or something. I just wanted to ask you, advise you, in fact… please, try to control it next time. I was worried about you too, that day. This won't have any type of consequences, we've talked that situation out and next time, I know you'll act rationally."_

"_I will, Grissom. Thank you." – Morgan said. "And I'm sorry, if I disappointed you… I wasn't my intention."_

"_You didn't. Don't worry. I understand why you reacted that way." – He said. She got up, sighing in relief. "And Morgan… if you ever need to talk, you can come to me."_

_Morgan nodded in agreement, before silently leaving his office._

_(End of Flashback)_

"You should have told me still, Grissom…"

"She admitted to have crossed the line and she was really worried she had screwed up, big time, Conrad… We've cleared things up and she said it wouldn't happen again."

"But it did and now there's something we must do." – Ecklie pointed. "I've suspended her for undefined time, until the two of us had time to have a meeting and decide what we're going to do."

Grissom took a deep breath. He knew exactly what Ecklie wanted but still, he asked. "What do you want to do?"

**(At Sofia's apartment)**

"Hi, dad!" – Morgan greeted, as her beloved father picked up the phone. She had just walked out of the shower and realized he had tried to call her cell while she had been in the bathroom. "I was in the shower, sorry. I didn't hear the phone ringing…" – She said, her dark wet hair falling over her eyes.

"Hey Lynn… How are you, sweetheart?" – David asked. He had called his daughter to tell her something that had happened that morning. Figuring that she would be asleep that moment, he had decided to call her later in the day, knowing that she worked during the night.

"I've been better…" – She confessed, in a sudden impulse, but regretted the second the words left her mouth. Morgan didn't want to worry her father. She knew for sure, if he suspected something was going on, he'd run to the next plane and fly down to Vegas or something like that. _"Dammit!"_

"What happened?" – He asked, immediately, concern all over his voice.

"Nothing, dad… I was just talking…"

"Lynn. Answer me: what happened?"

Morgan sighed and let herself fall to the couch. "I got suspended yesterday. I may be fired…"

"What? What did you do?"

"I reacted badly with a suspect and I didn't act correctly with him. Then, when the Assistant- Director called me for a meeting, to discuss the civil suit that said suspect's lawyer had filled against me, I wasn't that correct with him either. I'm screwing up time and time again, dad…"

"Hey, calm down, Lynn… Don't start thinking about things that didn't happen yet, okay?" – David said, trying to get her to relax. "Maybe, if you do the right thing and apologize, they'll just punish you and let you work again soon."

"What if they don't?" – She asked. "What if they just go and say 'We don't want you here anymore, you are fired!'? What do I do, dad?"

"You studied your whole life for this, Lynn. I bet you're really good at what you do, I'm not familiar with it, but I've seen your grades in college and your projects and I'm your father, I'm aware of your abilities…"

"There are seven of us in the team, dad… One more, one less, what difference does it make? They're all excellent and older and more mature than me. They know how to control themselves. I don't!"

"But you'll learn, with time. We all learn with our mistakes, I am one living proof of that and you know it. You're still just twenty-three, Lynn; you still have a lot of time to learn."

"But if they fire me…"

"If they indeed fire you, honey… You keep your head up, pack your stuff and move on. Las Vegas is not the only important town in this country, in what concerns Forensics."

"What do you mean, dad?"

"There are other Crime Labs." – David pointed out. "But let's not start to think about the worst-case scenario. I have something to tell you, that's why I called you today…"

"Oh, sure… What's up?" – She asked, trying to wave away, even if just for a couple minutes, the angst that had been following her since this whole mess had started.

"Melina… Melina called me this morning." – David said. On the inside, he was a little afraid of his daughter's reaction to it, but he had to try. When she didn't answer for a few moments, he spoke again. "Lynn…?? You still there?"

"I don't have anything to do with what she does or what she doesn't do." – Morgan stated. "Was that what you wanted to tell me?"

"Lynn… She said she wants to see us. She didn't know you were in Vegas; she's coming to Cameron soon. She said she wants to talk…"

"That's none of my business, dad, and you know it. I don't care what she wants or what she does!"

"Melina… Melina is your sister, Lynn… She's also my daughter; I can't just ignore her and pretend she died." – David said, sadly. "And it's hard for me watching the two of you fall apart."

"We've fallen apart only because she…" – Morgan trailed off. The wound, there it was, open again, bleeding again, like it had been for years. She controlled herself. Her father didn't deserve to hear all the adjectives she had to describe Melina. Despite her rage, he didn't deserve it and Morgan knew it perfectly. She took a deep breath before speaking again. "She made her choice and now she'll have to live with it. I made my choice and it is not to see her or talk to her or even listen to someone talking about her. I don't care. You still have to two daughters, dad, they just don't get along… They won't get along."

David sighed. "I'm sorry that you think that way, Lynn…"

"I don't want to fight about this with you dad, please…"

"Okay, okay. I won't talk about it. It was clearly a mistake. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Just don't mention her again, please. Now, I have to go. My pager is beeping; I think they may want to call me in to reveal their decision… I'll call you later dad, okay?"

"Okay honey. Good luck."

"And I'm sorry, dad… but I just can't… you understand, right?" – Morgan said, sadly.

"I do. It's okay. I won't force you into anything, Lynn. Goodbye. I love you a lot." – David said, before ending the call.

"Bye dad." – Morgan said back and when he hung up, she whispered. "I love you too."

**(One Hour Later)**

Morgan arrived the Crime Lab and walked to Ecklie's office. On her way, she saw Nick coming her direction. _"Damn…"_ – She thought. He was looking down, reading a file he had in his hands, possibly related to the case he was working in. She kept her gaze to the floor and walked right to the office where Grissom and Ecklie were waited for her.

"Rodriguez! Hey… hold on a minute, I'm coming with you.." – Vartann's voice sounded behind her.

"Alex? What are you doing here?"

"Ecklie called me. He says he wants to talk to both of us, before deciding your… case."

"Oh. Okay." – She said. That hadn't been mentioned over the phone, when Ecklie had talked to her.

"Ladies' first…" – Vartann said, when they reached the door of the office. Morgan briefly smiled and got in, the Detective soon following her.

"_Here we go…"_

* * *

_Review, please? :)_


	35. Chapter 35: The Weight of the World

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episode 'Grave Danger' isn't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

_**shadysgurl15 - **Thanks. Here it is. Sorry I made you wait so long._

_**Samsara Dallire - **Yep, she was. But now things will get better, believe me. -smiles-_

_**Giuli Miadi Black - **Dear, thanks a lot for your review. Here's the so promised chapter. Hope you like it._

_**Snickersbar - **Here it is._

**A/N:** I want to dedicate this chapter to **Giuli Miadi Black** for all the help and support she's been giving me. Thank you, my dear! This one is for you!

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter ****35**

"Alex, I called you here just to confirm what you wrote in your report of Hank Peterson's detention and interrogation."

Vartann nodded, as he stood beside Morgan. Ecklie was sitting behind his desk, Grissom in front of him. "We're just following the protocol here. In these situations, we have to analyse the report of the moment where the supposed aggression took place and confirm it personally with the Detective in question… it's standard procedure, Alex, you know that right?"

"Yes, yes, Ecklie. I'm familiar with the protocol and I confirm everything that I wrote in there." Vartann said. Ecklie got up and stretched his arm to Morgan, "You have to read it too, to see if there's anything that Detective Vartann wrote in there that you disagree or think that didn't happen exactly that way…"

Morgan grabbed the document and quickly scanned it. "Yeah, everything sticks to what happened… Don't worry, Vartann's not covering me. He wrote everything that I did in there." she said, in a dry, low tone. Ecklie took the document back and sat down again.

He coughed, clearing his voice, before speaking again. Grissom, on the other side, didn't move or say a word, "So, me and Grissom, your active supervisor, had a meeting this past shift, to discuss your… how do I call it?... 'situation'…" – Ecklie started, his sarcasm getting on Morgan's nerves. She was bouncing her right leg up and down, a reflective reaction she had always had, since she was a little girl._ "Spill it right away and leave the damn pretty talk, come on…"_ she thought to herself.

"Well, we exposed both our points of view of this… 'situation',", Ecklie continued, "and reached a conclusion, after pondering what's the best for the Lab and, more important, what's best for the city."

Morgan nodded, as if it would make the man speak faster, but it was useless. _"You gotta be loving torturing me this way, Conrad…"_

"I'm forced to agree with Grissom that you are a great crime scene analyst, despite everything that we both know, everything that you do that I don't approve. Despite all that, since some of it doesn't really matter to this subject now, you are indeed a great CSI, Rodriguez, and all of us have our bad days. All the good and the bad measured up, the point is that we decided not to fire you."

It was like the weight of the world… no, the weight of the Universe had been lifted off Morgan's shoulders. She hadn't been fired! _"You must have done something right somewhere down the road, Lynn..."_ she thought.

"But…", Ecklie went on, "of course that, once again, both of us reprove your action and there's consequences that you'll have to accept, for this to be a one-time situation, not to repeat again. The main thing here is, Rodriguez: if you do this again, there are no meetings, no second chances, nothing… You get fired, immediately. Understood?"

Morgan nodded, swallowing the lump that had formed on her throat. _"You could use some anger management classes, Lynn, if you don't want to end up killing this guy, someday."_

"So, we've decided that you'll be suspended for a week, without pay, counting down from today on. It wouldn't be good for the good service of the Lab to have the graveyard shift be kept off one of his elements for much longer; it has already been hard enough on everybody with CSI Stokes out of the team, for… for the reasons we all know too well."

Vartann shifted his weight from one foot to another. He was wondering why only one week… If their were giving her only one week of suspension, that meant that there had to be another way they were going to punish Morgan.

The office remained silent for some seconds. If Ecklie was expecting any comment or any reaction by Morgan, he didn't get one. "Well, but I think it's obviously clear that this is not the only thing… I could never _just_ suspend you, after a situation like this."

"_Oh, you really couldn't…"_

"So, I decided that all the cases you've summoned up until now that were counting for your opportunity to be promoted to CSI Level 3 will be ignored. You'll go back to square one, Rodriguez."

"What?"

"Since you've been a CSI Level 2, you've summoned up a certain number of solved cases that were counting for your CSI Level 3 promotion. When you reached one hundred cases, you were probably going to be promoted. Now, all those cases will remain on your record but will be ignored for the matter of the promotion.", Ecklie explained.

Morgan's gaze moved from him to Grissom. Her supervisor's face was closed; she couldn't make up what was on his mind. He was almost always like this, really mysterious about his thoughts. Then, when Ecklie started speaking, she looked at him again.

"And also, all the cases you work on, and hopefully solve, in the next three months will be ignored for the matter of the promotion. Only in November 13th 2005 will your cases start counting for the Level 3 promotion, as if you were just promoted to Level 2 that moment."

"I've been a Level 2 for two months, Conrad. How many cases have I worked on this time? I don't know for sure, but about what… twenty-five?", Morgan said, trying to keep her cool. "You got to be kidding me; you know that in three months, I'd be halfway through my way to promotion…"

"Yeah, Rodriguez, that's too bad. But you know what? I'm really tired of your attitude. I don't like you. You may be one hell of a CSI, but you get on my nerves and this was the only option that I agreed with Grissom. My first choice was to fire you, immediately, so consider yourself really lucky, because if I was the only one deciding, you'd be cleaning your locker at this moment and searching for another place to work."

From the corner of his eye, Vartann glanced at Morgan. She took a deep breath, trying to keep to herself all that she wanted to say to Ecklie, even if it was just for once. She needed the job and this was what she wanted to do for a living. Of course, what her dad had said was right, there were another Crime Labs all over the country, but she had got kind of attached to Vegas, the city, the environment and all of it. She liked it, despite all the mess that her life had turned into again, the past three days.

"_Come on Lynn… You're stuck with it, suck it up and keep it quiet. You'll release it later, not now, not here…"_, She said to herself, trying to control her emotions and, most of all, her actions. _"Listen to him until he's done, then turn on your heels, leave the building and go to the car… Or maybe ask Brass to go shoot some bullets. But now, keep quiet!"_, She ordered her inner self.

"Are we clear?", Ecklie questioned.

"Perfectly clear.", She answered, biting her tongue not to say anything she shouldn't.

"I'm glad that it is, then.", He said, sitting back behind the desk. Morgan stared at him and Grissom for a few seconds before asking permission to leave. "Are we done?"

"Yes, you can go now.", Ecklie allowed, pointing the door. Morgan turned on her heels, not pronouncing another word, and left the office, Vartann right after her. He hadn't quite understood yet why had Ecklie called him at the same time and made him watch this 'show' but oh well… _"It's Ecklie we're talking about, what's more do you need to say?"_, the Detective thought to himself as he walked outside the office.

"Morgan… wait.", He called her, as her quick steps were leading her to the outside of the building, not even looking back. "Rodriguez!"

She didn't stop or turn back. He ran to catch up with her and held her arm. "Hey… Are you okay?"

Morgan turned to him and shrugged. Her expression was of sadness, defeat. "He's doing all he can to ruin me and lately, I've only been making his job easier and easier… now he's done it. Good Lord, that man is going to have one hell of a celebration today! He finally did it, he ruined my career. Congratulations to him! Now, even Sanders, who's a Level 1, will be promoted to CSI Level 3 prior to me…"

"Hey, you're overreacting, Morgan… It's just a promotion. You're a good CSI, you'll do the one hundred cases in a flash, I know it.", he said, trying to cheer her up. "You can't let it get into you."

"I know, I know… But truth is, that it is getting into me. I just can't help it, Alex, that man gets into me, sometimes I just want to go in there and show him my resignation letter!", She said.

"Okay, okay, let's not start to say things we don't want to, okay?", He proposed. " I'm going back to the Police Station, can I offer you a ride? I can drop you off somewhere, if you want."

The small shadow of a smile appeared in her lips but it quickly faded away. "No, thanks. I brought my car. Thank you."

He shook his head. "Anytime.", he said, before walking away, heading to the outside. Morgan stood there, for a few minutes more, replaying the whole conversation with Ecklie in her mind. After some moments, she snapped back to reality and went to her car, putting back her sunglasses as she exited the building. As she was walking to the place where she had parked the service SUV, Nick came after her. "Morgan…", he called.

She turned around. "Nick… hey.", she greeted, shyly.

"Are you okay? I saw you leaving Ecklie's office with Vartann.", he said, hands on his pockets. "Something happened?"

"Hmm, no… H-He just wanted to talk to me about the consequences of the civil suit.", she answered.

"Oh, okay.", he nodded, feeling uncomfortable. "You… you want to have breakfast? I just clocked out and I was about to go grab a bite at Frankie's before going home to get some sleep. You want to come with me?"

Morgan pondered for a moment, during which Nick's anxiety grew stronger and stronger. She was nervous and all stressed out, because of Ecklie's decision, so this wouldn't be the best time to talk with Nick about them. However, Sofia had made her seen, the night before, that she couldn't run forever. She had to face Nick, to talk with him. And the sooner, the better.

"Yeah, okay. I haven't eaten anything today yet, either. I'll meet you there, in five minutes."

Nick nodded and each one left for their car. Ten minutes later, they were sitting in a booth, each one with a sandwich and an orange juice in front of them. They ate in silence until midway through the meal, when Nick broke the silence.

"Are you coming home with me?", he asked.

Morgan wiped her mouth clean with the napkin and put it back down on her lap. "Look, Nick… I-I… I have been all messed up and acting like a spoiled teenage-kid and I owe you an apology. I was really confused and for two days, I wasn't myself, I didn't know what the hell I was doing. I didn't even think before acting, I just went and did stuff I didn't want to. That got me in trouble with Ecklie, made me snap at Sofia, made me almost hit one officer in the Police Station and also made me fight with you… I'm sorry, Nick."

"I understand, Morgan, you don't have to…"

"Please, let me finish.", She asked, gently. "You made me start talking, now, please, let me say it all, before it makes me blow up."

"In my relationship with you, things always kind of happened in a different way than they usually do for me… In the opposite way, actually. I was living with you before we were even friends. I'm a much closed person and just go living with you when I barely knew you was a bit against my nature. But you tried to reverse that situation and you got closer and closer to me, moving forward almost on a daily basis. I had never wanted to admit it, even to myself, but when you went missing I was almost like 'forced' to do it. You became very important to me, Nick and the angst I lived those two days was indescribable. I know it was nothing compared to what you were forced to bear, but it was pretty much intense, even for me… I'm used to angst but that was way over my limit.", she spoke, calmly, her eyes focused on the glass filled up with orange juice, in front of her. Her right arm rested on the table, her fingers randomly drawing small circles on the wood.

Nick nodded and remained silent, hearing her attentively and not wanting to interrupt her again, allowing her to continue. "When we… when we made love, I freaked out. For me, it was against all the rules of friendship and even work. We're partners and taking things to a different level would only affect our job and I don't want that. I'm already screwed up as I am but I don't want to affect you and your life and your relationships. I've had some issues, even before I got out of Cameron and came here; some issues I haven't been able to solve yet and I'm not good at handling certain situations and I sure handled this the wrong way. I'm really sorry, Nick."

"It's okay.", he said, nodding and smoothly moving his hand to briefly touch hers, trying to giving her some confidence. He sensed she hadn't finished her 'speech' yet.

"But then again, I'm lucky enough to have the one Sofia Curtis around again and she made me see things in a different way. I learned that there are certain things I can't deny… I sure as hell have to admit that you became essential to my life, Nick. But, on top of it all, I just don't want to ruin our friendship cause that is really, really important to me."

"To me too, Morgan."

"And about that night… I didn't want to make you think that it had been awful for me or that you had made me do anything that I didn't want to. You needed me and I must confess that I guess I needed you too. I just… I guess I panicked. You know, I had only shared that kind of intimacy once, with someone that really meant a lot to me and I never knew if I was ready to do it again. But, at that moment, I didn't really think about it, I just let myself go. The whole thinking came later, after you fell asleep and I felt awful. I mean… we're so different, Nick! You're older than me, I ain't no perfect princess, I'm full of flaws and I have scars that will never, ever go away, and I'm not talking about the ones you've seen already. I'm an emotional mess. That's why I've been acting like this. This whole amount of silly reasons has been making me act like a kid."

Nick smiled. "But despite all those reasons, you still have the right to be loved, to be happy, Morgan…"

She smiled briefly, shaking her head. "I'm talking serious. It's my turn to speak now. I don't care if you're not perfect. Perfection is boring. I don't care about the scars. Come on, it's Nick Stokes you're talking with. I was buried alive not even two months ago, who am I to judge other people's inner scars? I can't hide this or deny it anymore. I guess everyone knows it yet. At least, Warrick says it's written all over my face. You are really important to me, Morgan. I guess that it is the fact that we were both royally fucked up that makes us special. I wouldn't be the same person that I am now if I hadn't been in that box and I got to say… You were the one thought that kept me alive that much longer, that made you guys be able to take me out without a bullet in my head."

She shivered when he mentioned the bullet and he took her hand, softly, in his again. "That night meant a lot to me, Morgan, and I wish it would repeat itself many times until the end of my life. That would mean that you're with me and I need you to be. I don't care about anything other than that, right now."

"Nick…", she started but soon got lost in the feeling she caught in his eyes. This time, it was Morgan who started to lean forward. It were her lips that touched his, lightly at first and then a little more passionately. He moved his other hand up to her cheek and stroked it, as she took the initiative to kiss him.

Seconds later, she pulled back, remembering that they were in a public dinner, really close to the Crime Lab. Their hands were still holding each other and Morgan looked at them for a moment, before asking, "Nick… are you sure you're willing to have me, with my scars, my passion for tattoos, my bad temper, my smoking addiction, my ripped jeans and strange t-shirts and my unconditional love for metal and rock music?"

Nick smiled. She hadn't seen him smile that way again ever since the kidnapping. And seeing him smile like that again, was the only answer that Morgan needed.

* * *

_Okay, this story has gained its own life and my initial plan is completely thrown out of the window. Hope you like it, still. Review please? :)_


	36. Chapter 36: Analyse

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episode 'Grave Danger' isn't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

_**Giuli Miadi Black - **Here's the update and thanks for all the help. I owe you, big time! bows down_

_**Andy-Ander - **Thanks. Here's the update, I hope you still like and keep reading and reviewing. _

_**shadysgurl15 - **Thanks._

_**Samsara Dallire - **Thanks a lot for your review, my dear. It's reviews like yours (they may be rare but they are definitly worth it) that make me keep going with this. I love deeply 'my' Morgan and I'm glad that someone understands her essence and likes her, at least, a little bit. She's not the cold-hearted bitch she seems and that will be revealed... soon. I count on you to keep on that side of the track. You can count on me to keep writing this. This one's for you._

_**Arwennicole - **Thanks. I'm glad you liked it._

**A/N:** Hey there. This chapter is dedicated to the one and only **Samsara Dallire**. If you like good stories, then go check out hers. They're great. Her skills to portrait our Nicky boy are amazing and she is one hell of a writer. Check them out!

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter ****36**

One week (and a lot of 'I'm bored as hell' statements) later, Morgan was finally back to her beloved job. She was back at Nick's apartment and, after doing some deep cleaning on her room for a day, just to keep her busy, and going shopping at the mall the next day, she had hated these days. Although Morgan was forced to accept that her room really needed some deep cleaning and she indeed had enjoyed that afternoon spent at the mall, looking for a new pair of jeans and some t-shirts, the rest of the week had been awful.

Now, she was happily driving through the streets of Las Vegas, her hands tapping on the wheel as she listened to Sublime's '5446/Ball Chain' and headed to the crime scene that had been assigned to her as soon as she had pulled in, her field-kit in the seat next to hers. She was thrilled to go back into solving puzzles and she was even afraid her deduction skills were a little too lazy to go back to full mode.

She turned right to an apparently calm neighbourhood, stopping the car after a few blocks. Her voice quietly following the song, even after she had turned off the car, she reached for her kit and walked to the house that had been isolated by the famous 'Do not cross' yellow tape.

"Rodriguez.", Brass greeted, with a nod, as she passed under the tape.

"Captain.", she greeted back, stopping her singing. "How've you been?"

"Ah, I have my days…" Brass answered. "We have two DB's, a female and a baby, her daughter. Catherine's already inside, with David."

"Okay, I'll go see what I can do to help.", she said, turning around and walking to the door of the house.

"I'm glad to see you back here, Morgan.", Brass spoke up, as she was entering the house. Turning around back to him, Morgan smiled and nodded to him. "So am I, Captain… So am I."

Brass smiled and walked to his car, to drive off and do his job of reuniting the victim's background, down at the Police Station. Morgan carefully entered the living room, where one body, the mother's, lay on the floor, face down, blood pouring aside from a bullet wound to the back of the skull. David was kneeling next to the body, measuring the liver temperature.

"TOD was approximately six to eight hours ago.", he announced to Catherine, who was snapping photos of the perimeter closer to the body.

"So, death occurred around 3.00 and 5.00pm.", she said, in between photos, trying to start an idea.

Putting down her kit and reaching for her flashlight, Morgan walked closer to them. "COD is more likely that shot to the back of the head, right, Super-Dave?"

"Hey.", Catherine and David greeted and he nodded, confirming her impression. "I believe so, yes, but I can only tell you more after the autopsy."

Morgan smiled. "Brass said that there was another victim, a baby…", she started, looking at Catherine. "What do you want me to do?"

"The baby is over there, on the crib. COD was probably asphyxia and there's a pillow next to the body that could have been used. I'm processing this body's surroundings, I don't know if you'd rather take care of the baby's or process the rest of the house."

Morgan moved the flashlight to the crib and looked at it for a little bit before making her choice. "I think I'll go through the rest of the house.", she said, a little sample of contrived anger noticeable on her voice.

Catherine nodded and continued to take pictures of the living room, the main crime scene of that case. Morgan took some steps back and reached for her kit, but before she left the room, she analysed the whole scene for a moment more.

"Cath…", she called.

"Hmm?", the CSI supervisor turned her attention up from the camera and looked at the younger analyst. "You're thinking of something?"

"Yeah… I think the mother was a collateral damage."

Catherine looked surprised. "What? Why do you think that?"

"Come here. Look at the scene from my perspective…", she suggested, signalling for Catherine to join her, by the doorstep of the living room. The supervisor did so and they both stared at the scene for a minute or two, processing it, before Morgan spoke again.

"Look… the crib is right there, by our left. There's a baby communicator on top of the counter, next to the crib and it's on, right?", Morgan pointed the flashlight to that location, as she explained her still kind of vague idea of how the murder had happened. "Then, on the other side of the room, you have the phone. The nearest door to the phone is the one that leads to… what is it there?", she asked, walking to the said door, on their right. "Oh, the kitchen... have you been there yet?"

"No. I arrived little time before you, I was just getting started."

"Think with me. The mother is in the kitchen, with the baby-communicator turned on, preparing something, when she hears a noise through the communicator. She rushes to the living room and sees someone asphyxiating her baby, leaned over the crib. What's her first reflex?"

"Run there, to try to stop whoever was trying to kill her baby?"

"Or run to the phone, to call the Police?", Morgan suggested, her flashlight now pointing to the body's location and the way it was positioned.

"And then, the killer takes the weapon and shoots her?"

"Stopped her from calling the authorities. Her feet are on the direction of the crib which means she was facing the right side of the room, in our point of view, and that she had her back to the crib. And she was shot in the back of the head. Cath… I believe the baby was the target here."

Catherine played the whole scenario that Morgan had just described in her mind for a moment. It did made sense, actually. "Okay, then… So let's do things like this: you forget the rest of the house, for now, and focus on the kitchen. I'll process the living room. When you're done, go to the Police Station, maybe Brass has something more on the victim. I'll go to the morgue, to see what Doc Robbins has to tell us."

"Divide and conquer?" , Morgan asked, a glimpse of thrill shining on her eyes. She had missed the challenge part of this job, the one that made the blood on her veins run faster.

"And hopefully, have the killer locked up soon. I really need my day off tomorrow; I've been post-phoning it for a week already."

"Oh, please, don't tell me about days off…", Morgan asked, a truthfully annoyed look on her face.

Catherine grinned. "Was it too boring?"

"No. It was worse than that. It was HELL boring! I swear, Catherine, that if I had to spend one more day out, I'd go even crazier than I am already.", she said, reaching for her kit and walking to the kitchen. "I cleaned the first day, went shopping on the second… and then, five days of boredom."

Catherine laughed. "You needed to rest too. You'll see, it will prove to have been good for you."

"I'll accept your point if these days of rest make me catch the killer faster…", Morgan said, walking to the kitchen. "A baby communicator is on the table in front of the stove. Nice…"

Catherine smiled before continuing to photograph the scene. _"You're good, kid… You're really good at this."_, she thought.

**(A couple of hours later)**

After processing the whole kitchen, top to bottom, Morgan drove back to the Crime Lab, to drop off the evidence she had collected and then head for the Police Station. Leaving the samples and traces at the care of Wendy and Hodges, she hopped back to the car. Just then, her cell phone started ringing.

"Rodriguez."

"Morgan… Hey.", Nick's voice sounded, at the other end of the line.

"Oh hey Nick.", her face lit up with a little smile, as she started the ignition. "What's up?"

"I'm working this robbery at Bellagio and now I finally got a little break. I'm driving back to the Lab, to process evidence and I thought that we could take a break together, have some coffee or so."

"Oh damn… I'm just leaving the Lab; I have to go downtown to meet Brass. I'm sorry… We're kind of stuck until the evidences are all processed and until we've learnt something about the victim's background.", Morgan explained. "I was about to go through it, see if I can find something."

"Tough case?", Nick asked.

"Yeah.", she answered, sighing. "I'm sorry, Nick. Can we meet up later?"

"It's okay Morgan, you don't have to be. Of course, we'll meet later. I'll work on the evidence first and, when you get back to the Lab, I'll see you then."

"Okay.", she said, with a smile. He was really trying to keep up to his word of taking things slowly. "I'll call you later."

They hung up after a few seconds and she let the cell phone fall to the seat next to hers, remembering the one request she had asked Nick, when they had left the dinner, that morning, the week before.

_(Flashback)_

_After finishing their breakfast and talking about nothing in particular for some time, Nick and Morgan left the dinner.__ Nick tried, unsuccessfully, to disguise a yawn._

"_You're tired.", Morgan commented. "You should go home and throw yourself right into your bed. This was just your first day back yet… you should take it easy now, Nick, you've been out of the field for over a month."_

_Nick nodded. "Yeah. It was just a though shift. Some sleep hours and I'll be refreshed enough.", he smiled as they were walking to the place where the SUV's were parked. A little before they reached Nick's car, Morgan turned to him and tried to clear her voice._

"_Nick… I just have one thing to ask you… If we're going to move forward, I need to ask you something…"_

"_I know, Morgan."_

"_What?", she asked, surprised._

_Nick approached her face with his and briefly kissed her forehead. "I know what you want to ask me. We'll take things slowly… I won't rush anything, I'll wait until you show me you're ready.", he said, before stepping away and opening the door. "I don't want to screw up this time. We have a lot of time now, let's take things slowly."_

_Morgan didn't react immediately to his words, amazed about how well Nick knew her, so well that he could even anticipate her wishes. She smiled, gratefully, and nodded._

"_I'm going home now. You coming?", he asked, before getting inside the car._

"_No, I won't go just yet. I have to stop by Sofia's house first, I left my purse there, I just brought my wallet and documents and the car keys.", she said. "I'll go home afterwards, in a little while."_

"_Wake me up when you get there, would you?", he asked._

"_I will.", Morgan nodded. "Sleep tight."_

_Nick chuckled and got inside the car. Seconds later, he was pulling out of the parking place and driving home. Morgan walked to her SUV and also got inside it, putting her sunglasses back on the top of her nose. Turning on the ignition, she took a deep breath. "You're finally moving on with your life, Lynn… Don't get all scared now."_

_(End of Flashback)_

The week that had already passed since that day had been pretty calm. Nick showed her clearly that he intended to keep up his word of wanting to take things slowly between the two of them. She had heard about his reputation of being a player but as time passed by, he had proven her that those wild days were over. He had even once said to her that he was getting too old for those games and that he wanted more from personal relationships now. Something more reliable.

It had been a week with little time together, since Nick had been working, back on the field and during nights, and Morgan had been suspended, but they had managed to talk a lot and even go out together one night, with dinner and a little movie. Nick had proposed that, in an attempt to help her distract a bit from the fact that she couldn't go to the Lab. Being such a workaholic as Morgan was, it had been hard for her to be like 'forbidden' to work but Nick had helped her manage that situation, the best that he could.

And slowly indeed, they were moving forward, creating a bound that was even stronger that the one that they had had already, until that point. And, for the first time since she had left her hometown, Morgan was feeling free, relaxed… almost _happy_.

And she owed that to Nick.

* * *

_Review, please? :)_


	37. Chapter 37: Predictable

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episodes 'A Bullet Runs through It Part I' and 'Part II' aren't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

_**Andy-Ander -** Here's another. Hope you like this one too._

_**Giuli Miadi Black - **Glad you do, my dear. I love her too. Hope you like this one too. And where the hell have you been?_

_**Samsara Dallire - **She needs the calmess, indeed. And well, I don't like the fact that Nick's kind of portraited like a player, sometimes, and with all those dumb blondies, so I just tried to erase that from here, making him admit that it was over and he wanted to settle down. I hope you like my new chapter. -smiles-_

_**EmSyd - **Thanks. Hope you like this new one too._

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter ****37**

The break kept being postponed until the end of the shift and Nick and Morgan were only able to meet when each one got home. During the shift, text messages were changed between those two, mainly consisting of brief information like "I'm going with Brass to visit my suspect's house" or "I have to go over some evidence."

While riding with Brass back to the Police Station, Morgan couldn't help but chuckle as her cell phone beeped and she realized it was another text message from Nick.

"You're having a really busy night, uh Rodriguez?", Brass commented. "Cell phone keeps beeping…"

She smiled, not answering to his comment. Captain Brass was one of the few people outside of her team, in the Crime Lab, that she allowed those kinds of comments, without having a harsh answer following it. She read the message and tried to suppress a little laugh. _"Enough of excuses… I'm filled up with work and so do you. Damn shift. Meet you at home?"­_ – She read to herself.

"_Yeah, I think it's better. I'll call you whe__n I head home. Take it easy, just three and a half hours more…"_, she texted him back, smiling and slid the cell phone back into her vest's pocket.

Brass shook his head at her evident happiness and tried to start a casual conversation. "I hope the guy comes clean in the Interrogation… I wouldn't like a case like this to take much longer to be solved."

"Neither do I, Jim… If only we could make the results come up faster…", she wished. "And about the Interrogation…"

Brass glanced at her. "You're not getting all afraid on me now, are you, Rodriguez?"

Morgan shrugged. "I don't want to screw up again and I don't know if I can control myself. At least, right now. You got to give me some time, Jim…"

"Time for what?", Brass asked, exasperated. "You're one hell of a detective, Morgan, and you can't let Ecklie interfere with your performance. Okay, I must agree with him, as much as it may cost me, that you had to change your attitude. That's a point. But to be afraid of interrogating someone, that's a completely different thing…"

"I'm not afraid!", she snapped. Brass was surprised by her explosion and, as he stopped on a red light, didn't add anything further, while she calmed down. "I'm sorry, Jim, it's just…I'm not afraid, I just… I know my limits and I know that if he says something a little out, I'll go all aggressive. I have to control myself. I need some time to get used and practice that."

"If you keep your aggressive attitude aside, you'll be one of the best detectives in the whole Crime Lab.", Brass said. Morgan's eyes showed a little surprise, her reaction to his comment. He hadn't said it, so directly, before and it caught her a little off guard. "Jim…"

"Really, Rodriguez. I'm not saying you're the best CSI. It's water clear that you still have a lot to learn on the analyst part, you're still very young. But on the interrogation part… Hell, I got to be honest with you, as always… You're really good at interrogating suspects. You're able to build up a tension inside that room that they barely ever resist, Morgan."

She looked down and blushed, embarrassed. "But don't worry… I'll do the talking today. You just take the samples you need and then go take care of your beloved science. Do your magic tricks and tell me who I have to question and what I have to ask. Today, we'll do like that, okay?", Brass asked, his whole expression showing some devotion for the young girl sitting next to him.

Morgan nodded, a shy grin on her lips. "Sure thing, Captain Brass."

They looked at each other for a few seconds before the detective burst into laughter. "God, I missed having you around, these latest days, Rodriguez…", he confessed, moving up the speed as the light turned green.

* * *

He had been questioning the suspect for around five minutes, when Morgan knocked on the door, asking permission to get inside, her field-kit on her right hand.

"Come on in.", Brass said. As she opened the door and walked in the Interrogation Room, he introduced. "Will, this is Morgan Rodriguez, from the Crime Lab. She's here to take some reference samples, to run against the one's we've got from Kate's house."

She put the kit on the table and opened, taking out a cotton swab. "Open your mouth, please, Sir.", she requested.

Will Nolan did as he was told so and she took a sample of saliva, mechanically, to give to Wendy, for the DNA tech to run it against the baby's, confirming that he was his father. As she ID-ed the cotton swab and saved it inside the kit, Brass continued with the Interrogation.

"So Will… When was the last time you saw Kate?"

"I don't know… Maybe about a year ago. A little more. It was the only time I saw her.", he answered and then explained. "I'm married, Detective."

"Well, that didn't stop you from seeing her, now did it?", Brass commented, ironically. "Tell me, Will… You own a .38 caliber, right?"

The suspect swallowed, nervously, before nodding. "I bought it for protection, for me and my family. You know, in my business, you get more enemies than friends."

Morgan took her flashlight out of her vest's pocket, after having secured the cotton swab inside her kit, and turned it on. "Can you hold out your hands for me, sir?"

Will stretched them forward. "Palms up, please…", she requested. He turned them, as Brass went on. "So, if you admit having that weapon in your possession and you state that you only saw Miss Harris once, a year ago, how can you explain that a bullet, whose striate match the gun that's registered under your name, was found inside Miss' Harris brain?"

Morgan struggled to suppress a smile, as she asked, "Now, please, turn your palms back down, sir."

Will seemed to be caught in surprise and it took him a moment to absorb what Brass what said and what Morgan had asked. He finally understood and, with a scared look, turned his hands and looked up at Brass. "I-I… I don't know what you're talking about…"

Morgan reached for another cotton swab and used it on the skin between his thumb and his index finger, of his right hand. "You're right-handed?"

Will nodded. "I haven't seen Kate since that night, I swear, Detectives."

"Evidence will tell us that, Will…", Brass said and then looked at Morgan. She asked, "Mr. Nolan, can we see your gun?"

"I don't have it with me; it's in my office, at home." He answered. "I can take you there, though."

"Oh, you are taking us there, Will…", Brass stated. "Get up."

**(****Two Hours Later)**

"Hey Brass.", Morgan said to the phone. She was sitting by a desk, in the Print Lab, with Mandy working a few desks out front from where she was. She had dusted the gun they had found in Nolan's office for prints and scanned the prints, leaving them running through AFIS while she went to drop the gun in Ballistics from Bobby Dawson to search it out.

"Anything new, Rodriguez?", the Detective asked.

"I've dropped the gun with Bobby D, he's going to analyse it as soon as he can. I've dusted it before giving him the gun. I asked Mandy to do a visual comparison. The prints don't match Will Nolan's. I'm running them through AFIS now, but the guy's clean… He didn't kill Kate Harris, Jim."

"Well, that means we've got to let him go…", he stated, with a sigh. "And do we at least have another general direction, on who may have killed her?"

"I'm waiting on the print's results. Catherine is working in other plausible suspects, people who might hold a grudge against Kate… I mean, against the baby…"

"You still think the baby was the main target here?", Brass questioned.

"Why would the killer shoot Kate on the back of the skull and then just asphyxiate a four-month old baby?", she asked back. "It doesn't make sense, Jim… I know that we can't find any connection for the baby to be the main target other than the baby's father… But the guy didn't even know the baby existed, he's married, GSR test came back negative and Mandy just cleared hi--"

"Hold on a minute, Rodriguez…", Brass said. "You said that he didn't know he had a child… Why wouldn't Kate try to contact him? I mean he's rich and got her pregnant. Why would she keep silent?"

Morgan pondered for a moment. She had an idea that made her jump off the chair as she stood up. "The wife!", she exclaimed, excitedly. "She may have tried to contact him but his wife may have gotten in the way. Will never heard of the baby and Mrs. Nolan had access to the gun."

"That makes sense. They don't have any kids and she wants to keep her marriage flawless.", Brass added. "She kills the baby, Kate catches her and she kills her too."

"That's why prints don't match and he swears that he hasn't moved the gun in months…"

"Call Catherine. I'll get a warrant and meet you two in the Nolan's house.", Brass stated and then hung up.

Morgan smiled. Mandy turned back to her. "Hey, someone's gettin' busted soon… I can see that from your smile."

"You're damn right… This killer will get busted before my shift ends. You can bet on that…", she stated, getting up from the desk. "I have to find Catherine. Thanks a lot, Mandy."

"You're welcome, Rodriguez. Anytime.", Mandy nodded, focusing back on the prints she had to work on, still, as Morgan left the Print Lab. As she was walking through the Crime Lab, searching for Catherine, she found Nick in one of the work rooms, processing some piece of clothing.

She knocked on the open door, twice. "Hey there."

Nick looked up from the evidence. "Oh hey… how's the case?"

"We had gotten to a dead end but I may have just broken it. And yours?"

"No clue at all. I think the DA will drop it off. I was just analyzing everything one more time, trying to find something but there's nothing here.", the frustration on his voice was awfully evident and she had an idea.

"Give me a minute, I'll be right back.", Morgan said, leaving Nick alone and going to get a cup of coffee on the Break Room. She came back to the room where he was, with the cup on her right hand and put it down on the table. "Here. We didn't get to have our break, but that doesn't mean you don't get to have your coffee. You look tired…"

Nick smiled to her and took a sip of the coffee. "Thanks."

"You're welcome.", she said, briefly caressing his shoulder. "I've got to go now. You know where Catherine is?"

"I believe she's in one work room, there somewhere.", he answered. "At least, when I got here, she was. She may have gone out meanwhile. Why don't you ask Alyssa?"

She nodded. "I'll do that." She turned around and walked back to the hall, turning her head back to him, by the doorstep. "And I'm sure you did everything right, Nick… Don't let it get to you, it's just one case and, well, at least, no one died… The Bellagio will just have a little less money tomorrow but oh well… I bet they won't even notice the difference."

Nick laughed. "Yeah, they won't…"

**(Three weeks later)**

Sirens could be heard all over. A black Caprice was literally flying through the streets of Las Vegas, with two police cars chasing it, in a high speed. After turning one corner, on Desert Springs, another black car joined the pursuit, following right after the two police cars. Inside, Detectives Jim Brass and Sofia Curtis were trying to figure out what the hell was happening. The people running off in the Caprice hadn't stopped firing yet and, for the sound of the guns, it seemed that they were pretty loaded with automatic weapons.

"These guys are hardcore.", Sofia commented, hanging tight on her seat. "Who are they?", she asked, but she got no answer, as Brass was focused on the dangerous driving.

At this point, little did she know how hardcore they were… and how would that affect the whole team, CSI's included.

* * *

_Yeah, people... I'm taking a chance with 'A Bullet Runs Through It' now. -smiles- Review, please? :)_


	38. Chapter 38: Hard Sun

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episodes 'A Bullet Runs through It Part I' and 'Part II' aren't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

_**Andy-Ander - **Cliffies are fun. I was faster to update this time. Hope you like it still._

_**Samsara Dallire - **You don't have to look anymore. Here it is. Hehe.. Thanks for the compliment and for the add. -smiles-_

_**Giuli Miadi Black - **Nothing happened!! As you may see, my dear, they are still sleeping on separate beds and YOU KNOW the reason. Anyways, you're mind can still imagine those things, no problem about that. Hehehehe...Hope you're starting to like 'A Bullet Runs Through It'. Maybe, you'll want to kill me after the chapter. -grins evily-_

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter ****38**

Grissom and Catherine were approaching the scene. He had his cell phone on his left hand and was dialling some numbers as an ambulance pulled off from the location.

"You know it's going to be a long shift when you get the call to respond to a command post.", Catherine commented as they walked to the SWAT van that was parked out front.

"Yeah.", Grissom agreed, rising up the phone. "Warrick… we need everyone from grave. But park on Wall Street. Jefferson's tapped off all the way back to Lincoln."

As they reached the van, Detective Vartann was on the inside, a radio communicator on his hand, giving directions to a patrol unit. "Suspect's last seen running south."

"These buildings have been searched and cleared.", one officer, possibly the head of the unit, informed him.

"Okay. Move south one block. Check each apartment. This guy is armed and dangerous.", he ordered.

The officer nodded and went to transmit the orders to the rest of the patrol unit. Detective Cavaliere, who stood on the outside of the van, spoke too. "You got a lot of witness claiming to have seen what happened."

"Okay, good. Let's get some vans down here, bring them all to the station.", he commanded. Had he been the one to chose and he wouldn't be there, commanding the troops that moment. Sofia had been involved in this shooting. She and Brass were leaning against the SWAT van, both silent and with their heads down. And now, when she needed him the most, there wasn't any support that Alex could give her at that moment.

Catherine and Grissom reached their well-known detectives. "What happened out here?", she asked.

Both looked up from the floor but only Brass spoke. "I was one of the shooters, so was Sofia, so you know the deal. That's really all I'm allowed to say.", he said, despite wanting to tell them more, tell them all that had happened in that God-damned neighbourhood. He had noticed Detective Nelson Ortega standing near by, though the man hadn't approached them yet. "I see... hmm, Detective Ortega, that hard-head from IA is handling our case. Just our luck…", he commented, ironically. By his side, Sofia expressed no reaction.

Vartann jumped out the van and joined them, giving Grissom and Catherine an opening in what had happened in that scene. "Caprice full of shooters opened up on two of our guy's. One's down."

"Is Bell going to make it?", Grissom asked, though the question was in the mind of all of them.

Vartann shook his head and let out a sigh. "He's DOA."

Sofia looked up from the floor for the first time, a shocked and angst expression on her face. Vartann looked deep into her piercing blue eyes; almost apologizing for the bad news he had just given her, for a moment, before continuing to inform the CSI's. "Three suspects are dead. Fourth outstanding."

Detective Ortega came near them, interrupting. "Excuse-me… Guys, hang tight.", he said to Brass and Sofia and the other officers that had been involved in the shooting and that were also waiting by the van, near them. "I'm going to get some rides. Take you down to the station, okay?", he proposed. "I want to get your statements."

Brass nodded. "Yeah, yeah, okay."

"Good. Excuse-me.", Ortega said, again, passing between them and walking away. Catherine looked at him for a second before taking a deep breath and turning to Grissom. "I'll stay with them. I'll collect their firearms and ammo.", she said, quietly.

Grissom nodded. "All right." Turning to Brass, he said. "Good luck.", before walking past Brass and Sofia.

"Thank you.", the detective said, leaning his head back against the van.

"Hell of a day, man.", one of the officers, standing near the detectives, mumbled under his breath, as Grissom walked past them.

"It's just beginning…", Grissom stated, without stopping walking or turning back.

**(At Morgan's and Nick's apartment)**

After receiving Grissom's call, Nick got up and walked to the bathroom, to take a quick shower before going to wake up Morgan. She hadn't been sleeping well the past days and they had just arrived from a tough shift a couple of hours before. He decided to get ready first, letting her sleep a little more.

Fifteen minutes later, he was buttoning up his shirt and walking to her room. Carefully, he opened the door and smoothly moved inside. She was sleeping over her left side, with her back turned to the door. Nick approached the bed.

"Morgan…", he called, kneeling by the side of her curled body. He moved each one of his arms to each side of her and slowly leaned down, delivering a kiss on her temple. "Morgan, baby… Wake up."

She stretched her legs and moved her arms up to rub her eyes, as Nick stepped back and sat on the bed. "Nick?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"I've just fallen asleep, why are you waking me?", she asked, moving to lie over her front. "Just five more minutes…"

Nick smiled. "No, you've got to wake up. Grissom just called me; the whole graveyard-shift is needed in Jefferson. There's been a shooting. Brass, Sofia and a few other officers were involved."

"WHAT?!", she opened her eyes wide and sat up quickly on the bed. "Okay, I'm awake now…"

"I don't know many details yet… Grissom just said we were needed in the scene. The whole team."

She pushed the sheets aside and got up. "Okay, okay… I'll be ready in a minute, just let me take a shower.", She grabbed some underwear and a t-shirt from a drawer and picked up her black jeans from the chair in front of her bed. "But did anyone get injured?"

"I guess there was an officer that got hit.", Nick said and watched as an horrified expression took over her face, quickly adding. "But Brass and Sofia are okay…"

She passed her hand through her long hair that was all messy. "Will you wait for me? I won't take long…"

Nick got up from the bed. "Okay. I'll be in the living room." By the doorstep, he turned around and smiled to her. "By the way, Morgan… Good morning."

She looked up at him and smiled too. "Good morning, Nick."

Less than twenty minutes later, she showed up at the doorstep of the living room, dressing her black leather jacket over the green t-shirt she had picked up, randomly, from the drawer. "I'm ready.", she announced, taking her wet hair from the inside of the jacket.

When he was driving to the scene, Nick stretched his right arm to her. "Here. I brought this one for you… If I know you well, you didn't even remember to eat anything before leaving.", he said, giving her an apple.

"Yeah, you're right.", she said, with a little smile. "I didn't remember anything. I almost forgot to bring my cell-phone. Are you sure they are alright?", she asked, worried, after taking a bite off the apple.

"Grissom just told me that there was one officer down. If it was Brass or Sofia, he would have told me right away, don't you think?"

Thinking for a moment, Morgan surrendered. "Yeah, you're right… Sorry."

* * *

Putting down his kit, Grissom spoke to his team, which was finally completely reunited at the scene. "Okay. Everybody around here has a video camera or a cell-phone camera. They'll all be taking pictures.", he stated.

Warrick, on his left side, let out an irony. "I think we all know how to operate in front of a camera."

"Don't be caught picking your nose.", Nick warned Sara, as she immediately moved her hand back down. Grissom ignored those two little comments and went on, giving them information. "Catherine's back at the station collecting the officer's guns. This is the main crime scene. So, Nick, you and Sara take this.", he instructed. Nick, who was on Warrick's left side, and Sara who was on Grissom's right side, both nodded. "There are two additional crime scenes in the alleys behind Third. Warrick, you'll take the west alley; I'll take the east."

Greg and Morgan closed the circle, both standing in front of Grissom. "And what do I get to do? Go back to the Lab and wait for a phone call?", he questioned.

Morgan rose up her left hand and slapped him in the back of the neck. "You're with me, smartass!", she stated.

Nick, Warrick and Sara stared at the floor, controlling their laughter. It was incredibly funny the way how, sometimes, despite being the rookie herself, Morgan would mock Greg. Even though it had already passed over a year and she was the youngest and the newest on the team, sometimes it didn't seemed that way. Greg had passed a few years on the Lab before asking to be moved to the field so that made a little difference, since Morgan had been trained, directly, to act on the field, since she had walked out of college. Her calmness on the field was much more evident and that slap had been the proof of that. And she had already reached a state where she was comfortable working with everyone in the team, even Sara (in spite of their issues), which allowed her to release herself a little more than in the beginning, feeling comfortable enough to tease the guys, every once and a while.

"This is a running gun battle that started twenty blocks back. You two get that.", Grissom instructed to the two youngest members of the team.

Morgan nodded and Greg smiled, figuring Grissom should be joking. "That's got to be like… a mile? Who's with us?"

Morgan scooped down to pick up her kit. "A bunch of pissed-off locals with shot-up cars.", she added. Sara laughed. "Just what I was about to say…"

"Awesome!", Greg commented, bitterly.

"You'll be alright.", Warrick said, as they all picked up their kits from the floor and headed to the direction that they had been assigned. On the way to the place where the 'gun battle', as Grissom had named it, had started, Morgan stroked Greg's back. "Come on, Sanders… don't be such a wuss!"

He simply looked at her, an angry expression in his eyes, behind the purple lens of his sunglasses. "We could be worse. Imagine having to process the main crime scene?", she said, trying to cheer him up. "Nick and Sara have an awful task ahead of them. Come on, I'm already worried enough; please don't make me deal with your bad mood, while we're working the road.", she asked.

Greg stopped and looked at her. "They are alright, Morgan."

She nodded. "I know… I just got a little scared when I hear that Brass and Sofia had been involved. I'll be okay in a while.", she said, forcing a smile. "Oh my God, this is going to take like FOREVER!", she exclaimed, when she saw the scene in front of them.

Greg laughed. "You see? That's what I am talking about…"

* * *

Sitting in one of the chairs in the halls of the Police Station, those chairs that she had already indicated to so many faces, criminal or not, Sofia was wringing her hands together, nervously. Some minutes before, Brass had gotten inside one of the Interrogation Rooms and she had been 'invited' to make herself comfortable.

"_Comfortable?"_ – A voice inside her head had screamed. _"Yeah, right!"_

She had barely spoken since she had shot that man, in the alley. Not that she regretted it, not at all. Her action and her quick reflexes had saved Officer Davis' life but never before had Sofia shot somebody and that was getting into her. And not only that… Officer Bell had gone down, right in front of her. And there was nothing she had been able to do to help him out.

Of course it had been chaotic out there. Bullets flying everywhere, suspects running through houses where there were innocent civilians whose lives could have been endangered.

"I was just trying to survive…", she said quietly, more trying to convince herself than anything else. "Just trying to survive..."

* * *

Three and a half hours had passed already. Under the heating sun, Greg and Morgan had processed about ten blocks, having still another ten to go through yet. Morgan was taking care of photographing and taking notes of all the evidence that Greg was finding. He was squatting on the road, thoroughly scanning the concrete.

Having already taken off her jacket, Morgan paused for a moment, to pull her long hair up in a ponytail. "I'm starting to melt out here…"

Greg looked up from the floor to her and smiled. "With that long hair of yours, I'm surprised you hadn't said that already."

She laughed. "Oh, come on, Sanders… I like my hair."

"When was the last time you've cut it, Rodriguez?", he asked, his eyes now back on the concrete.

She shrugged. "I don't actually remember it… maybe when I was like… 21?"

Greg laughed. "I mean, it's getting to your lower back."

"Okay, Greggo, I've got it. You don't like my hair. Now focus back on the evidence or Grissom will kill us.", She said, her eyes drifting back to the folder she had on her hands.

They worked silently for another two or three minutes before Greg asked again. "So, have you been listening to anything good, lately?"

Morgan chuckled, shaking her head. "Nothing that you don't know already that it's fucking awesome."

"Still stuck on Avenged Sevenfold's?", he questioned, picking up, with the help of some tweezers, yet another bullet casing.

"Oh yeah.", she said, squatting down next to him. "You gotta admit, Greggo…"

"They are the new masters of metal. Yeah, I know...", Greg sighed. "Like you would let me live if I said otherwise."

"Yeah, I wouldn't.", she said, looking at the casing.

"Rodriguez…", Greg called, when she got up again and took a step forward. She turned around and looked at him. He was still holding up the bullet casing, his eyes empty of the relaxed expression they usually showed. "What is it like?"

"You don't see your whole life passing through your eyes, Sanders, like people use to say.", she said and he made a surprised expression. "In a flash, the only thing you see is the future you really want for your existence. You're faced with the possibility that you may not live that future. Now, you may think that you want to party all life, never quite settle down and stuff like that."

Greg stood up and she took a pause, taking a step forward, approaching him again. "When you're in that situation, you get to see what you really deeply wish for your future. A calm life, children, a loving wife and a nice house, by the beach. You think 'I'm not going to live to get all this…'. Then, you get shot. It hurts a little. And you learn the biggest lesson of your life."

"What is it?"

Morgan didn't answer, just smiled. Then, she turned her back to him and started walking. "Come on, Sanders… We still have another ten blocks to go…"

* * *

_Cute moment between Morgan and Nick and a funny Morgan/Greg scene (in a friendly way) just to please my friend Giuli! (and thank her for posting **review 100**!) By the way, go check her **'The Guy next Door'** story, would you? It's really good! Review, please? :)_


	39. Chapter 39: Hells Bells

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episodes 'A Bullet Runs through It Part I' and 'Part II' aren't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

_**Andy-Ander - **Check out the episode. She is doing that. Thanks for the review._

_**Samsara Dallire - **Thanks. Sofia is indeed devastated, but my dear OC will help her out, soon. You know me, I like to put my favorite caracthers through a lot of angst. -smiles- and you do that too._

_**Giuli Miadi Black - **It's almost nine-thirty, my time. Here's the promised update. Hope you enjoy it, my dear. And you have another Greg/Morgan cute scene, just for your pleasure._

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter ****39**

In the main crime scene, between Jefferson and Third, Sara and Nick were also busy with a lot of work. They were working the Police cars, by putting some plastic rods in the bullet holes. When they were finished with that, Nick stood in front of the car and let out a sigh. "Looks like a porcupine.", he commented.

Numerous red plastic rods covered the front part of the car, including the two front doors, that had been opened, and the windshield along with the front windows.

Sara analysed attentively their marks and then concluded. "There's no room between the rods for a human being to fit."

Nick agreed. "Bell and Adams must have really been swerving and weaving."

"Seventy-eight bullet holes.", she said and then looked down, at the blood stain on the floor, in front of her. "And Bell wasn't hit until he was outside the car."

"_Life is really not fair…"_, she thought to herself as Nick commented on something she didn't hear.

* * *

Grissom was also still processing the east alley, behind Third, one of the other two crime scenes. Detective Vartann had come to him, to hear any new information the CSI supervisor might have. Grissom held up a gun that he had put on an evidence bag earlier and filled the Detective in what he had found already.

"I didn't find any cartridge casings in this alley from the dead guy's gun.", he said, looking at the bagged weapon and then at the floor, pointing. "Just these three nine-millimetres from our cop."

Vartann opened his arms, concluding the obvious. "So, he must have been out of ammo."

"Yeah…", Grissom agreed, but his expression wasn't a convinced one. It seemed too irrational to him. "But he had to know that he would get shot holding a gun, whether it was loaded or not. Why didn't he just toss it?"

Vartann shook his head. _"Lab people… You got to give them a break."_, he thought. " Maybe he didn't know he was out. Heat of the battle.", he explained, knowing the probably the CSI wouldn't understand. "I mean, we're not talking rocket scientists."

Grissom pondered that for a moment, before asking, not convinced at all. "That doesn't make him suicidal though… does it?"

At that moment, Alex Vartann didn't have the answer to that question. And he had other people on his mind, worrying him more than why didn't Ricardo Estevez, the dead suspect, toss away his gun when he had gotten out of ammo.

* * *

"Detective Curtis' service pistol was received with one magazine containing three live rounds and one live round in the chamber.", Catherine said aloud, for the record, putting the bullet that was on the chamber down on the table. Sitting in front of her, Sofia looked tired, beaten… She was nervous and that was very noticeable through her fast breathing and her shaking hands that she had wisely moved down to her sides.

Catherine knew that this had been Sofia's first shootout and, consequently, this was the first time she was in an Interrogation Room being the one who had to answer the questions.

Sofia had played that movie time and time again in her head and she wasn't one-hundred per cent sure anymore of all the details that she knew that were important. Her eyes were moving from the table to Catherine, her former CSI team-mate, and then back to the table. She kept trying to convince herself to calm down but her attempts weren't successful. It didn't matter how hard she tried, the image of Bell falling down wouldn't leave her thoughts.

Nelson Ortega, the man that Brass had called 'the hard-head from IA' was behind Catherine, leaning against a small table that was near the wall. "During the gun battle, were you aware of the other officer's position relative to you?", he asked, beginning the interrogation.

Sofia took a deep breath, before answering._ "Here we go…"_

Minutes later, it came. The question she was terrified off. Catherine was silent, in her place in front of her. She hadn't said a word yet, as Ortega was mercilessly firing out his questions. "Do you remember Officer Bell being shot?"

Sofia leaned her face down, closing her eyes for a moment. In a flash of a second, it was like she had been teleported back to the 'battlefield': one of the suspects, Ricardo Estevez, was behind the turned car and had his gun pointed to the officers and their cars, in front of him. He was shooting and she recalled a voice, probably Sergeant Adams', shouting 'Get down!', as Officer Bell stood up. That exact moment, she had fired her gun and almost instantaneously, Bell had gone down.

She opened her eyes and tried to speak, but her voice had faded. Catherine and Ortega's eyes were fixed on her: hers were filled with worry and sympathy towards the confused and nervous detective. His were cold, demanding as he approached her and stood on Catherine's side now, empty of any consideration for what she had just been through, what he was forcing her to go through.

"Hmm… S-S—", her voice trembled as she begun to speak. "S-Sorry… what was the question?"

"I asked if you remember Officer Bell being shot?", Ortega repeated, pronouncing each word very slowly, as if teasing her, with a more authoritarian tone in his voice. Her big piercing-blue eyes were fixed on his, her bottom lip trembling, as she didn't answer. Right then, Catherine understood that she had to do something, to prevent an eventual breakdown on Sofia's guard. The Detective was very strong, Catherine knew that and didn't question her ability to balance her emotions, but this shootout had definitely hit her pretty deep and something had to be done… Something had to give and it was clear that Sofia was close to the edge of breaking down in that Interrogation Room. And that wouldn't be good for her side.

"Do you need a moment here?", she asked, her eyes meeting Sofia's.

"No, no, that's all right. She's going to do just fine.", Ortega's voice interrupted what Catherine was about to say.

Sofia looked at him and then she looked back at Catherine and took a moment before answering the question. Catherine swallowed the lump on her throat. At least, she had tried.

"Hmm… make sure you check Bell's vest… I think he took one in the chest.", she said, struggling harder to keep herself together. Just then, Detective Cavaliere opened the door, asking both Catherine and Ortega to step out for a moment.

"_Couldn't have a better timing, Cavaliere…"_, Catherine thought as she stood up. They walked around the table and, as he passed by her, Ortega touched Sofia's arm, whispering. "We're not done."

That break proved to be good for Sofia. When they returned to the room and Ortega went on with his questions, she seemed to haven gotten herself together and she answered smoothly to all that she was being asked.

"Davis' slide was locked back. He was out of ammo.", she stated.

"So the suspect had a gun pointed at Officer Davis.", Catherine said, repeating the idea Sofia had given.

"Of course!", Sofia said, looking at both of them. "That was why I fired."

"One hundred per cent sure?", Ortega questioned.

"Yes.", Sofia answered. She knew that they couldn't fire against suspects unless said suspect had a gun in his hand. And she was sure that Salvador Rosario, the man she had killed, had a gun in his hand.

"What did you do next?"

"Officer Davis picked up Rosario's gun. I instructed him to put it back down, where it had fallen. He apologized and said he was just trying to secure the suspect's gun. He was acting on survival instinct, not training.", she explained. And then added, "It was understandable, due to the circumstances."

"I don't think so." Ortega said. Sofia just stared at him, not wanting to believe what the man had just said. Even Catherine turned her head to him, with a surprised expression in her eyes.

* * *

Back on the streets, Greg and Morgan were finishing processing the road. They were left with three blocks to go through, when Grissom approached them. "Hey! You done yet?", he asked.

"Grissom!", Greg said, standing up and walking to their supervisor. "Are we on overtime?"

"Of course.", Grissom answered, not paying to much attention to Greg's bored tone. Morgan chuckled and continued to write down her notes.

"Did everyone else go home?"

"No."

"It's good to know.", Greg added, going back to work. Grissom approached Morgan and she started to give him the results of their processing so far. "So, we've gone through seventeen blocks until now. One hundred and fifty cartridge casings so far. Let's see… .38 bullet impacts."

"Good. So, you still have three blocks to go?"

Morgan nodded, pulling her sunglasses up to her head. "We're melting out here, Griss."

"Yeah, and we still have one hour of work ahead of us.", Greg complained.

"I think you missed one, Greg.", Grissom said. It had been his way to answer to Greg's complaint. Morgan grinned and turned back to her supervisor. "Never mind him; he's in a whining mood today. Can we just take a five minute break?"

Grissom smiled and nodded, absently. He had noticed something on the side of the road and headed there, as his cell phone started ringing. "Hey, Sanders…", Morgan called.

"What? Are you leaving me here now? Come on, I want to get this done with…"

"Stop complaining and get up. You're going to buy me a coffee…", she said. "We have a five-minute break."

He got up and they walked beyond the yellow crime scene tape. She pulled a cigarette and leaned against a Police car, just enjoying that little break.

"You're going to get yourself killed, one of these days."

"I know. We all will.", She said, ignoring what had been implicit in his comment. Like Nick and Warrick, Greg also didn't approve her smoking habit and he'd made sure to tell her that, every single day. "It's the circle of life, man."

"You understood what I meant."

She smiled. "I'll quit, one day. I promise."

"You should quit TODAY, Rodriguez…"

"Don't push your luck, Greggo.", she said. "I've said I'll quit one day. When I find another decent stress reliever, I'll stop smoking."

"So, cigarettes are your stress-reliever?", Greg asked, smiling. "I thought it was music…"

She took another breath and dropped the ash of the cigarette to the empty package on her left hand and grinned. "Music's my passion, man. It's not a stress-reliever… It's a way of living.", she explained. "You know Grissom and his bugs and all of that?"

Greg nodded and she went on. "Well, imagine I'm Grissom. Music is my bug. Just the mere sensation of listening to a song and being able to separate all the instruments, analyse them one by one before listening to it again and just enjoy the perfection that they make, all put together. It's indescribable."

His eyes were fixed on hers, as he had never heard her speak so passionately about something other than their job. Her eyes were shining, as if a bright light was pointing at them. "What? Why are you looking at me that way?", she questioned, going back to her sometimes bossy, attitude.

"I had never heard you talk about anything so passionately. Other than the job…", Greg said, shrugging. "It's nice to know a bit more about you."

She blushed and didn't say a word further. She continued to smoke her cigarette and a moment later, he asked "Did you play anything?"

"Piano.", she said. "I played it for seven years. From twelve to nineteen. And some guitar, just for fun. That's where my passion for guitar solos comes from…"

"Oh… Petrucci?", Greg questioned, with a teasing look. "Oh no, better… Synyster Gates?"

She looked at him as she finished her cigarette and found it very hard to control her laughter. She friendly patted his arm and smiled. "Stop teasing me, Greggo! He's a great guitar player."

"Oh yeah. Let me guess: and he's very cute too?", He continued, teasing her a little more, trying to wave away for some moments the pressure of the case they were working in and the impact it was having on the Department.

"Actually, yes, he's indeed a very handsome guy but what does it have to do with this?", she admitted and he burst into laughter. "Greg!"

"Kids! Are you thinking about finishing this scene anytime this year?", Grissom asked, putting his cell phone back in his pocket. "And make sure you document these skid marks.", he said, before walking away from them.

"He said 'skid marks'.", Greg snickered. Morgan looked at him and shook her head, laughing. "Come on, let's get this over with.", she said and they walked under the yellow tape. _"I have someone on the Police Station I want to go see."_

* * *

Brass was sitting by his desk, at the Police Station, bouncing his badge around when Sofia appeared at his doorway, after finishing her statement. She looked worn out, both physically and psychologically. They looked at each other, silently, for a couple of moments.

"Want a ride?", Brass offered.

"No, I'm just going to go home.", Sofia refused, politely, her voice empty of the usual relaxed tone she used with him.

"Are you sure?", he insisted. He was worried about her. She seemed beaten by this whole deal while he had already been through two or three situations like those.

"Yeah.", she said, before walking away. Brass sighed and put his badge down on top of his desk. _"Hell of a day…"_

_

* * *

_

Oh, I forgot to mention it last chapter: in my story, during the 6th season, Nick does not have any moustache or any of that awfully big hair. His looks, during the whole story, are basically the same as the ones in the 5th season, balancing between having shaved his hair or having it like he has on 'Grave Danger'... Just to clear that up (that moustache was horrible, my God!)

_And by the way, just to fill you in in case you don't know, John Petrucci and Synyster Gates are respectively the lead guitars of Dream Theater and Avenged Sevenfold. Two of best best guitar players of the world and, the two of them, very CUTE!_


	40. Chapter 40: Crazy

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episodes 'A Bullet Runs through It Part I' and 'Part II' aren't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

**A/N:** Okay people. To my dear readers, today I apologize but I'm not in the mood for personalized replies. So, I want to thank **Samsara Dallire**, **Giuli Miadi Black** and **Andy-Ander** for their support and their dear reviews. I promise that I'll be back on the personal replies next chapter. I'm sorry.

**A/N 2:** Oh and by the way, just want to draw your attention to a little detail. This week, I've decided to name each one of the chapters that have already been posted. I gave each chapter the title of one of the songs that roll through my iTunes library. Mainly metal and rock, but you got the point. I think they're adequate to the chapter they name.

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter 40**

Nick was in the Break Room, making a little pause on all the processing. He grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and let his body fall down on the couch. He was exhausted. Not that he wasn't used to pull double-shifts… He was and he had also done his share of three shifts in a row, that wasn't the problem. It was just the fact that he had actually gone home and slept about three hours that had drained all of his energy. If he had stayed at the Lab, working, and then gone directly to the scene of the shooting, his body wouldn't have felt the consequences of a double shift so hard.

"_At least you've slept the nights before…"_, he thought to himself. _"Imagine how drained Morgan is…"_

She hadn't been sleeping well the two nights before that one and that morning, when he had gone to her room to wake her up, she looked really tired. After processing about ten blocks under the heating sun of Las Vegas, worried about the two detectives that had been caught in the middle of that shootout, Nick wondered if she was still capable of focusing.

Just as these thoughts crossed his mind and he took another sip of the water, he saw Morgan's slim form quickly walking past the room, heading to the Locker Room. She seemed to be quite in a rush and was so focused on whatever she had to do that she didn't even looked inside the Break Room. Understanding that, Nick got up and followed her to the Locker Room, without her knowledge.

As he got there, he saw her, opening her locker to take something of the inside. She hadn't noticed him yet and he took the moment to just admire her a little longer before making himself noticed. While she was searching for something on her cell phone, Nick focused his attention on her long black hair that she had just pulled back in a loose half-ponytail, as usual, and that had those burning red tips that shone with the little light that entered through the window of the room. Then, he moved it towards her outfit, so normal that day, so different from the unique fashion style she privileged most of times.

Nick had always thought that judging people for their looks or something was silly and discriminatory. He had never been that type of guy but he had to admit that when Morgan had started working on the Crime Lab he had questioned himself how a girl like her, with so many ink injected on her skin and so many metal pierced on her ears and adorning her arms and neck could be a competent crime scene investigator. However, she had showed him, throughout that first month she had worked with them before being hired as a full-time CSI, that his doubts had been completely unreasonable. Who would say that now, about fourteen months later, he'd be calling her _his_ girlfriend?

"Are you thinking about getting in here and say anything or you're going to stay at the doorstep, staring for the rest of the day?", her voice echoed in the room, taking him back to the real world and away from his memories.

Nick smiled. "How did you know I was there?"

"You've followed me since I walked past the Break Room."

"I thought you hadn't noticed me…", he said, approaching her. "You didn't stop or anything."

"Greg and I just finished processing the street. We dropped the casings and so at Bobby D. The guy has been having a very busy day… So many bullets to go through…", she said, dressing back her leather jacket and closing the locker. "And you?"

"I was just taking a little break."

"You seem tired.", she said, caressing his cheek. Softly he pushed her back, to a more hidden place, between two of the aisles of lockers. She turned and trapped his body between hers and the wall and he circled her waist with his arms. "I'm kind of in a rush… I want to go to the Police Station."

He cocked his head to the side, looking surprised, and asked. "To the Police Station?"

"Yes. Grissom said I could leave Greg working on evidence alone for half an hour to go there. Then, when I return, he'll have his own break.", she answered. As he didn't seem to have understood yet why she was going downtown, she added. "Sofia is there, facing that Ortega from IA."

"Oh right.", he said and she moved her arms up his chest to pass them around his neck. "She needs me."

Nick nodded. "She must be devastated.", he said. Morgan rose up and stood on tip-toe, staying at his level. "Yeah.", she agreed, before approaching his lips with hers and kissing him briefly. "I can _feel_ that she is so I must go there." She gave him a few more brief kisses before pulling back. "And this is not the appropriate place. Someone can walk on us at any moment. You're tired too. Get your work done and I'll catch up with you at home when I'm done, okay?"

Nick kissed her again, demanding a little more this time. She pulled back. "Nick… did you not hear what I just said?", she questioned, watching him pout. "Come on now…", she said, trying to release his arms from around her waist.

"I'm stronger than you…", he commented, with a small grin.

She laughed. "Ha-ha, very funny Mr. Stokes. Now, hands off, come on…"

He released her and she reached for her purse. She turned back and kissed him briefly one more time before strolling out of the Locker Room, quickly heading for her service car. Nick stood there, his back still against the wall. _"This woman is driving me crazy…"_, he thought to himself. Not that it was a bad thing… not at all. Nick couldn't be anymore happy that it was that way.

* * *

Grissom entered the morgue, just as Doc Robbins was finishing Officer Bell's autopsy. "I'm glad you're here. I'd like to get this one off my table.", Doc confessed. "Found a rather large contusion on the left chest, just bellow the nipple.", he informed, pointing to a purple spot on Bell's chest.

"Well, that location is consistent with the bullet Catherine found embedded in his vest.", Grissom stated.

"It's like getting kicked by a mule.", Robbins commented. "You'll want to see this… Through and through.", He said, sticking a red plastic rod on the bullet hole in Officer Bell's neck. "Entrance wound just below his left ear, existed below and to the front of his right ear, severing the right common carotid."

Grissom's mind played the bullet trajectory and he couldn't hide his surprise, as the Doc went on reporting his findings. "That's your COD. Fortunately he never felt a thing."

"Left to right, back to front.", Grissom said, in a quiet tone, after thinking about it for a couple of moments. Doc Robbins hummed in agreement and he stated. "Only cops were shooting in that direction."

"Are you saying Bell was hit by friendly fire?", the coroner asked, a bit confused

"Maybe not so friendly…"

* * *

Getting out of the car, Morgan pulled her sunglasses back to cover her eyes, as she had reached the Police Station. Locking the vehicle, she headed for the front doors, hoping that it was Judy that was at the reception this time. She knew the red-head had a bit of sympathy towards her and she would, for sure, let her know if Sofia had given her statement yet.

She pulled the doors open and quickly scanned the Reception area. Judy was sitting by her desk, as usual. _"Good…"_

She approached the desk. "Hi Judy.", she greeted, politely.

"Oh hey Morgan. How can I help you?", the other girl asked, with a small. Behind her, the numerous phone extensions wouldn't stop ringing. "This is chaotic out here today."

"Yeah… it's like that in the Lab too. This shootout was pretty intense.", she said. "Can you tell me if Sofia's still there?"

"Oh… She just left. You missed her for about… less than five minutes.", Judy said. "She looks pretty beaten up. Brass is still in his office, though.", she commented and there was something about Morgan's expression that made her add, quickly. "I just don't think I can let you go there."

"I know.", Morgan said. "Can you just give him some note, for me?"

Judy looked around and then briefly nodded. "Yes, I think I can do that."

"Thank you Judy.", Morgan smiled. "I knew you could help me.", she added, writing some words down on a paper and handing it to the receptionist. "Thanks a lot.", she repeated before running of the Station to see if she could still reach Sofia. She searched the parking lot for the Detective's SUV and found it, finally, parked on the east side. She saw that there was none inside the vehicle.

"_She must still be around here somewhere…"_, Morgan thought to herself. She walked around the car and saw her friend leaning against the trunk, with her head on her hands. "Sofia!", she called, as she approached her.

The Detective looked up at the mention of her name. Morgan saw that there were tears threatening to fall down her blue eyes. "Rodriguez…", Sofia trailed off. "I… I think I killed Bell!"

"Whoa… What?", Morgan questioned, confused, as she leaned against the trunk, by Sofia's side.

"I remembered this while I was in there, being questioned. I was shooting over his cover, I think I may have been the one who killed him…", she explained, before she burst out in tears.

"Hey…", Morgan called, hugging her. "Hey, Sofia, come on… don't think about it now, okay? You're pretty shaken up by this, you need to rest."

"I was just trying to stay alive.", She murmured.

"Schh… I know that, Sofia.", Morgan whispered, trying to comfort her friend. She couldn't imagine how it had been for her, to be in the middle of that shooting in that God-damned neighbourhood. Seeing Officer Bell going down, bullets flying everywhere… Killing one of the suspects… "Come on, let me take you home.", she proposed, making the shattered detective stand up and enter the car.

Yes, Morgan had been pointed a gun before and that had scared the hell out of her, as much as she hated to admit it, but this was completely different. Sofia had been in the middle of a cross-fire. And now she was facing the possibility that she was the cop who killed a cop.

And that is never good… Neither in Las Vegas nor in any other town of the world.

* * *

Jim Brass was lost in his thoughts, in his office, still bouncing distractedly his badge up and down, when the receptionist knocked the door. "Cap. Brass?"

He looked up, startled by her presence. "Yes, Judy?"

"I was asked to give you this…", She said, walking to his desk and handing him a note and then added, in a lower tone. "Miss Rodriguez was here a moment ago."

"Oh…", Brass said, sitting up straight. "Thank you Judy."

She nodded and left his office. Brass put down his badge and reached for the note, unfolding the paper.

_Hang in there, tight, as always, Cap. Brass._

_We'll work this out soon, I promise. Can't wait to have you back on the field with me._

_Stay strong, Jim…_

_Rodriguez_

Brass put down the paper on the desk with a little smile. "Thank you, Rodriguez.", he said, quietly, to himself. "I will."

* * *

"_Home, finally!"_, Morgan thought as she turned her key on the lock, opening the door of her and Nick's apartment. This had been a long, long day and all she could think of was stretch her body in her bed or on the couch and sleep the four little hours that Grissom had given her. She really need that. After working under that heating sun for all that time, hearing Greg's occasional complaints, seeing Sofia so desperate and devastated had drained all of the little energy she still had by that time. And then, when she had returned to the Lab, more work had been waiting for her.

Nick had reached the house a little before and, for the light she could see coming out of the living room, he was still awake. She shrugged the jacket of her shoulders and tossed it to the chair where she usually left it, along with her purse. She reached her cell phone out of the purse and took it with her, to the living room, just in case.

Walking inside the room, she saw Nick lying on the couch. She approached it and squatted down beside him. "You look like shit.", he commented.

"Oh thank you! Right back at you.", she said and then smiled. Sitting on the floor, she took off her Converse All Stars snickers and looked up at him. "How's Sofia?", he asked.

"She's… worse than I thought.", she answered, her eyes looking down to the floor. "It was so hard to see her like that, Nick…"

He moved his head in understanding. "Want to cuddle?"

She nodded, sighing. "Yeah… I could use some.", she confessed. Nick smiled and, turning to lie over his back, he wrapped his arms around her chest and picked her up, moving her to lay over him. "Better?", he asked, as she pillowed her head near his right shoulder and he rested his hands on her lower back.

"Much.", she answered. They fell silent for a couple of minutes until she spoke again. "Bell was killed by friendly fire."

"Yeah, I know. Grissom told me."

"Sofia was saying that she may be the one who killed him.", Morgan told him as she played with the chest pocket of his shirt. "She kept insisting that she was firing over his back when he went down."

"Baby, you have to forget that for some hours okay?", Nick said, bringing one hand up to caress her hair. "I know you're worried about Sofia, but we have to go back to the Lab soon, so you should just try to sleep and forget this hell of this day for a while… okay?"

Morgan nodded and closed her eyes. Moments later, her exhaustion took over her whole body and soul and she just drifted off to sleep, leaving behind all the stress that that hell of that day had brought her.

* * *

_Review, please? :)_

_For the ones who asked for a cute Nick/Morgan moment... I gave you two... Hehe_


	41. Chapter 41: Yehudi Lights

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episodes 'A Bullet Runs through It Part I' and 'Part II' aren't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

**A/N: **Sorry for the long wait, my dear readers. My life has been turned upsidedown for a long time now, ever since my last update and I took much time to recover from some troubles. I'll try to write more often now, that everything is more calm. I once again apologize. Thank you very much to all of you who are still with me on this journey. You're the best, really!

_**cheymon - **Thank you. You're forgiven. Hope you keep enjoying it._

_**Giu Miadi Black - **I don't have words for all you've done for me. Thank you very much. I wouldn't go on writing if it wasn't a big part for you. Thanks, very very much. -bows down- LY_

_**Samsara Dallire - **Hey. I'm sorry it took me so long to update. Truly sorry. It's against the Lab's policy that two members of the same forensic team are engaged in a romantic relationship. That's why they'll keep it a secret, as long as they can._

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter ****41**

_The car was flying on the road, spinning time and time again, so violently. His name __came out of her lips in a frightened scream as the vehicle was finally thrown against a tree, the windshield shattering in a million pieces of glass that fell over them._

"MICHAEL!", Morgan screamed, pulling herself up from Nick's chest, who also woke up, startled. She tried to catch her breath as he sat up on the couch. "Morgan?"

She crossed her arms around herself and he saw that she was very pale, frightened and that had some tears filling up her eyes. In a flash of a second, Nick was circling her trembling body with his arms. "Hey, it's okay… It was just a nightmare, baby…", he tried to calm her with the soothing tone on his voice, as she held on to him. "Everything's okay, I'm here… it was just a nightmare."

He was worried about the reason that had made her jump off sleep that way and who was that 'Michael' she had called for, almost in panic, but he wasn't going to ask her that in that exact moment. He simply rubbed her back, moving his hands up and down, while she held onto him, almost for dear life, trying to calm herself and catch back her breathing.

A few minutes later, she had regained her composure. She pulled back from his arms and tried to comb her hair with her fingers. Nick caressed her cheek. "Better?"

She nodded weakly. Her skin was still a bit pale and her hands were still shaking a little. "Sorry, I must have scared the shit out of you.", she whispered, embarrassed.

Nick smiled but concern was still evident all over his face. "A little. I woke up kind of startled."

"I'm sorry, Nick.", she apologized, reaching for her cell-phone that rested on the table in front of the couch. "Well, I have to go back to the Lab."

Nick sighed, as she quickly got up from the couch and walked to her bedroom. Despite being now romantically involved, she still kept some subjects and weak moments of her life just to herself and refused to share them with him (or with anybody to say the truth). And that fact just got into his nerves and kind of hurt him in a way. Because she had seen him in the weakest, most desperate and painful moment of his life… and she would just absolutely refuse to share the one that had been the most painful moment of her life with him.

Because he knew, and had known for quite a while, that that 'Michael' had been connected not only with her unique personality but also with her decision to move to Las Vegas.

"_Sooner or later…"_, Nick said to himself for the millionth time, _"Sooner or later you're going to get the answers you need to figure this puzzle out. Sooner or later…"_

* * *

"Shot him in the back for his bike. Great.", Grissom muttered, rapidly entering his office and moving behind his desk. He had just come out of a meeting with a-very-pissed-off Undersheriff McKeen, a very nervous Detective Vartann and Conrad Ecklie and Nelson Ortega whose emotions seemed to be very contrived in this situation.

"Hey.", a voice greeted. He looked up from the papers he held on his hand and saw Sofia standing across the room. "I left you a couple of messages.", she said, her shoulders down. It was if the usually bossy and very professional Detective Curtis had shrunken into a regular street patrol cop.

"Oh yeah.", he said, grabbing his phone. "I haven't gotten to them yet, sorry. You're administrative leave though. You should be home getting some rest."

"Yeah… I tried.", Sofia said. And she had, indeed, tried. He had taken a shower and even gotten herself into bed but that image was stuck on her mind and it just wouldn't go away. Sleeping or even getting the tiniest sample of rest had proven to be impossible due to the circumstances. "But I… I can't stop thinking about this… this Bell shooting."

"It's understandable.", he said, emotionless.

"Grissom… I think that there may be a possibility that maybe…". she paused for a moment. It was the first time she was going to say it aloud, which made it even worse. "I shot him."

He was taken back by her admission. "Sofia…", he started but he didn't know exactly what to say. Finally, he wisely decided not to get in the middle of the emotional mess that Sofia Curtis was at that moment and stay rational and professional. "We can't discuss the investigation."

However, she interrupted him. "It's, it's something I remember while I was giving my statement."

"Then, it's already on the record."

"No, it's something I didn't mention.", she added quickly. She just had to get that thought out of her head, share the height she had been carrying with her since the shooting, the day before, and Grissom was the best person to help her. Of course, her first choice had been Morgan, but the CSI was still very young and she was so worried about Sofia's state of mind that she figured it would be better to keep her out of this mess.

"Sofia…" He started again, but she interrupted him once more. "Please, listen to me…", she asked. She almost begged and Grissom sighed as she begun to tell her memory. "Bell was between me and the suspect. I was shooting over his cover which is… a violation of policy.", he explained, tears hovering in her eyes, as the images from the shooting flooded back into her mind. The movie started all over again, rolling for the millionth time since the day before.

The suspect was firing at them. She had fired back. Bullets flying everywhere. Bell falling down. "I-I-I… I was just trying to stay alive…"

Grissom remained silent. "But if I did, I-I…"

That exact moment, Sara entered the room without warning, making Sofia stop talking immediately. "Grissom, I have a question…", she was saying, until she looked up from the case folder in her hands. "Sofia?", she asked, quite admired, looking at her supervisor. He looked back at her but said nothing. Sofia simply stared at the floor, a bit embarrassed.

"You're on administrative leave.", Sara said.

"I know.", the Detective answered, only by politeness, but the brunette went on, harshly. "You should not be in this building."

Sofia just lost the little composure she had managed to maintain and snapped. "I was just talking to a friend. If I can't talk to a friend, who the hell am I supposed to talk to?"

"Any friend outside the department.", Sara said, casually, keeping her cool.

"Yeah, and how many friends outside of work do you have, Sara?" Sofia asked back. "Yeah, or maybe I should go talk to my mother. Oh, sorry, I forgot. She's a cop too."

"I could recommend a departmental psychologist."

The three of them fell silent. Sofia looked at Grissom, who hadn't opened his mouth since Sara's arrival, and then looked back down, biting her lip. "This was a really bad idea, I'm sorry.", she apologized, before turning on her heels and leaving his office.

While she walked out of the CSI building, Sofia was dealing with the fact that she was alone in this. She knew very well that she couldn't talk with her CSI friends during the investigation of the shooting. Grissom was out (coming to him had been a huge mistake) and also were Morgan and Vartann. Who was there left for her to go for help keeping her sanity?

As she was jogging down the sidewalk, seeing the same frames over and over again, she remembered one person. Someone she could call and whose life and professional experience could help her. Or, at least, comfort her a bit. She hoped.

Jim Brass.

* * *

Driving to the Crime Lab, with a very disturbed Morgan on the passenger seat, Nick was struggling with a consuming desire to just stop the car and make her tell him what the hell was going on, what had made her jump off sleep so frightened. As he was forced to stop, on a red light, he gained courage and, after taking a deep breath, finally blurted out some words. "Are you okay?"

Seemingly surprised, Morgan turned to him. "Yeah. Why'd do you ask that?"

"You've been very quiet. And because of… you know, before?"

"Oh. That.", she whispered, looking back to the road. "Nevermind, Nick. I'm fine. Really."

"You don't look 'fine'.", he insisted. "You look tired, nervous and very disturbed."

"Well, I am tired but so are you. Comes with the job, when you're having a week like ours. And 'nervous' and 'disturbed' can be considered synonyms so yeah, I am indeed nervous. It's been a stressful week too, with this Bell thing… I wish it was over already."

"It will be soon.", he said, but he wasn't completely convinced by her excuse. "But you do know you can talk to me, don't you?"

She reached for his right hand, which was gripping the steering wheel, and held it between hers. "I know. Don't worry about me, okay? I'm fine. I will be fine, anyway. I don't want you to be worried with me.", she said, before delivering a quick, but tender, kiss on his wrist. "All right?"

Nick showed her a small smile and nodded. He turned his head and leaned over to her, kissing her lips briefly, before the light turned green. Then, he drove off, heading to the Crime Lab. _"I will find it out. And I do worry about you. It's a part of loving you. A part I cannot avoid."_

* * *

That night, when everyone was dead tired of processing evidence and Nick, Sara and Grissom had gone, along with Greg, back to the main crime scene, to re-enact the shooting. While so, Morgan had remained on the Lab and she was sitting in one of the work rooms, with Bell's vest in front of her, analysing it once more, making sure that they hadn't let any trace pass by unnoticed.

However, keeping focused on evidence was proving itself to be almost impossible, as the weariness and preoccupation were reducing her deduction skills only to fifty per cent of their power. Concentrating her best to analyse Bell's vest, when her cell-phone started to ring and vibrate against the table, Morgan jumped, startled by the sudden noise that broke her (weak but effective) concentration.

"Rodriguez.", she answered, mechanically.

"Hey.", Sofia's voice was merely a whisper. Morgan jumped off the chair. "Curtis! Finally, I was worried sick about you. Where have you been? I tried to call you, several times…"

"I went for a run, to try to clear my head a little."

Morgan sighed. "Look, we're almost solving this puzzle. I promise you, it will be over soon…"

"It's over already.", Sofia informed. "Alex just called me. They found out that it was Brass' bullet that killed Bell. Not mine.", she explained, her voice trembling. "It wasn't me… I didn't kill Bell."

The CSI's chin dropped open and she had to sit back down. Of course she was relieved that it hadn't been her best friend who had killed Officer Bell… but Brass? Brass was kind of her protector in the Police Department. She had a special sympathy towards her Captain and well… she knew that this wasn't going to be good for him, specially with him being in the heart of the Las Vegas Police Department.

"_Dammit!!"_, she cursed, internally. After a small talk, the two friends said goodbye, with the promise to meet the next day. Morgan dropped the cell-phone on the table and just stared at the scattered vest, before putting it back on the evidence box. "It's finally over… Rest in piece, Officer Bell.", she said, before grabbing her phone and leaving the room. It was time to go home and get some rest. The next day would certainly bring new cases for the CSI team, hopefully not as draining as this had been. And she had to be at the top of her game then.


	42. Chapter 42: Demons

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

_**Andy-Ander - **Thank you. Here's the next. Enjoy it._

_**Samsara Dallire - **It's good to be back. Thank you. And yes, my dear Morgan has a deep, dark secret. And it is about to be revealed. Enjoy._

_**Giu Miadi Black - **Here's the promised update. Hope you enjoy it and you'll be back soon. Miss you. Good luck on the exams._

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter 42**

Morgan had been teamed up with Warrick that night; a car had been abandoned with a dead female body on the inside, just outside of one of the biggest casinos in Las Vegas, the Bellagio. She had been shot in the head, execution style, and no gun had been found at the scene nor any shell casing. They had analysed the scene thoroughly, the body had been taken by David back to the morgue and the car had been transported to the CSI Lab. Downtown, Detective Brass was doing his share of the investigation, searching for any affiliates to the deceased woman and while Doc Robbins was performing the autopsy, they had driven back to the Lab and were now processing the car, that had already been confirmed to belong to the victim.

It was a black Chevrolet, a recent model, and by the outside image, it seemed really new. "I guess she didn't get much of a chance to enjoy her new ride.", Warrick commented, as they were getting ready to check the inside of the vehicle. Morgan chuckled. "Well, let' see if we can find out why, shall we?"

"Be my guest, Miss Rodriguez.", he offered, opening his arm out, pointing the driver's seat. "I'll take the back.", he said as she shook her head. "You're such a tease, Warrick!"

"I do my best.", his big, white-teeth grin met hers and they got to work. Silently, as both CSI's preferred to focus totally on the evidence in this moment of their job, they spent the next hour checking every little inch of that car. Morgan in the front part and Warrick on the back.

"Hey Warrick…", Morgan called, at a certain point. "Check this out."

He approached the driver's seat from the other side of the car. "I found these fibbers on the backseat… what do you have there?", He asked, giving her an evidence envelope.

"What does this seem to you?", She questioned, moving her flashlight to the seat, highlighting a circular glowing stain.

"Swab it and take it to Wendy … seems that someone had some 'fun' here.", He said. She reached for a swab, "I have got a couple of partial prints on the steering wheel, the radio buttons and the driver's seatbelt. Oh and I also found this.", she showed him an evidence bag with something purple on the inside.

"What's that?"

"I've had these once, for a while…", She commented. "Artificial nails."

"Oh really?", Warrick teased. "I didn't see you as an 'artificial nails' type of person."

Morgan shook her head, smiling. "You gotta save some things to yourself… It keeps the curiosity alive."

Warrick laughed and she went on. "I used green and black ones but not this big. I'll take it to the Lab too; see if Wendy is able to find any epithelials or something.", She said and got up. "Who the hell has purple nails anyway?", she commented, shaking her head, as she examined the nail and turned around, heading to the Lab. "I hate purple!"

"Well, that's good. It means that you're not one of our potential suspects.", Warrick joked. Morgan turned around and threw one of her teasing looks to him. "We're in a pretty good mood today, Mr. Brown…"

"Well, yeah… my wife loves me, what can I do?", He said.

"I definitely didn't need to know that…", She exclaimed, with a grin. Then, she walked to the DNA Lab, leaving the garage. First she left the prints at the care of Mandy Webster, in the print Lab, who said she would call or page her if anything came up. As she was giving the samples to Wendy and explaining how they had been found and collected, Alyssa's voice sounded on the speaker.

"CSI Rodriguez, you have a visitor. Please, come to the Reception."

"A visitor?", She murmured to herself, surprised.

"New boyfriend, Morgan?", Wendy asked, with a smile. Morgan shook her head. "Naah, I'm still stuck with an old one…", she answered. She thanked Wendy and asked her to page her or Warrick as soon as she got the results. Then, she walked to the reception, "Hey Alyssa… you said I have a visitor?"

"Over there.", The receptionist pointed to the waiting room. She was about to turn around, when she heard a familiar voice calling her name.

"L-Lynn…"

"_No, it can't be…"_, She thought to herself. For a moment, she didn't want to turn around, but something made her. Her heart skipped a beat and she felt all the anger that had been hiding inside her the past four years coming back at her, boiling in her veins. She turned around.

"What the hell are you doing here?", she asked.

"I came to see you."

"Look, I'm working here and I don't really want to see you or talk to you… I worked my head off to get here, to achieve the dream of a lifetime, to get where I am right now and I'm not going to allow you to destroy it, as much as you want to do it.", She snapped. She turned to Alyssa, "I don't know this woman, so please, call security and tell them to walk her to the outside, okay?"

With that statement, she turned on her heels and walked back to the garage, to meet Warrick.

**(By the end of the shift)**

Sensing she had spent the rest of the shift quite disturbed, after the announce of that visitor, Warrick had offered himself to give Morgan a ride home. They were walking out of the Lab and she decided to tease him, trying to relax her own self a little.

"Hey, you sure you don't have to go straight home, to meet your wife that is so passionately in love with you?", She teased. Warrick laughed but ignored her. "I wonder how you got her to be like that… but hey, that's just me..."

"Give it up, kiddo, you love me too.", He said, opening the door.

She walked out first. "Yeah, right… Keep fooling yourself, Brown.", She murmured. He looked at her and laughed. She tightened her black leather jacket around her and put her hand on the pocket. She reached out for a cigarette and held it on the other hand. "I think I'll refuse your offer and I'll go home on foot."

"I'll go with you."

"Tina is waiting for you, Warrick. Go meet your lovely wife. I'll be fine.", She said.

"Tina can wait. I'm walking you home. I'm not letting you go alone, this late at night." He insisted and Morgan nodded. "Thank you."

"You alright?", he finally asked, after a few minutes of silence while she finished her cigarette.

She turned to him and tried to sound as casual and relaxed as possible. "Yeah, I'm fine.", she said, even forcing a small smile.

"And I'm the Queen of England.", he added, ironically. Warrick was a very direct person, and specially with his friends and the ones he cared the most, he wasn't someone to take the long roads to inquire what has bothering them. He took short cuts to find out what was keeping them to feel good and taking them down. So, following his usual impulse, he simply questioned. "Who was the visitor that appeared today at the Lab?"

Morgan took a deep breath and didn't answer immediately. He reached for another cigarette and, as she lit it up, she finally shook her head. "No one. I didn't know her, it must have been a mistake."

"You're been acting nervous since then. I don't believe it, Morgan and I'm not stupid. IF it was no one, why would you get like that after you've seen that person?"

She sighed. "Okay, okay, you're right. I know her. She is… well, was back from Cameron, my hometown. I hadn't seen her in quite a while. Almost four years to be more precise."

"Who is she, Morgan?"

Her eyes avoided his as she realized that it wasn't the exact moment to explain it, nor was she prepared to do it. "I'm not ready to talk about this yet, Warrick, I'm sorry… I just need some more time, to handle this, to fix things on my own…", She said, in a low tone. They had reached the building where she and Nick lived. Warrick nodded and stepped away. "Fine. I'll wait until you're ready…"

"Thanks.", she whispered. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight.", he waved, walking away. Morgan sighed and opened the front door of the building. "I need to sleep.", she spoke to herself. This visitor had surprised her way too much and she definitely needed to digest this unexpected meeting.

**(Two Days Later)**

"I'll get it.", Nick said when the doorbell rang. He got up from the couch where he was watching some game and went there. Morgan was on the kitchen, doing the dishes. He opened the door just to see an unknown woman standing on the doorway. She seemed quite familiar but he didn't connect her immediately to who she actually was.

"How can I help you, Mrs.?", He asked.

"I'd like to talk to Lynn… is she home?", The woman inquired. Nick nodded. Morgan appeared behind him, as she was going to her room after finishing the dishes, and she saw who was at the door. Her face turned white and she approached them.

"Oh… dammit!", She muttered.

"Morgan, this lady was asking for you…", He said. He stepped out of the doorway and went back to the living room.

"How the hell did you find me?", Morgan asked, once he was gone.

"I saw you entering this building two days ago and then I searched the bells. I found this one with your name along with some 'N. Stokes' which I assume is the young man that opened the door."

Morgan sighed and internally cursed the day that she had agreed on putting her name on the bells on the front of the building.

"Are you going to let me in?", The woman asked. They were still at the doorway. Morgan looked at her, "Why should I?"

"Because we need to talk. I tried to talk to you the other day and you didn't' allow me to, but I'm not leaving until we get this solved."

"This?", She asked. "We don't have anything to solve."

"You must give me a chance to explain, Lynn, please…"

"Excuse me? If I recall correctly, you were the one who disappeared without leaving not even a note, so I must do nothing!", She snapped. She then looked at the woman standing in front of her in the eyes for some seconds and something inside her made her curious about what she had to say. She had wondered about her reasons for almost four years, thinking about an explanation that had never come… until that moment. She stepped back. "You have five minutes."

The woman passed by her and got inside the apartment. Morgan closed the door and walked to the living room and she followed her. Nick was sitting on the couch, watching the second part of the game. His eyes moved up when they got in the room and he got up.

"Nick, I have to talk with this… woman, for some minutes… Would you mind?", Morgan shyly, asked.

He looked at her and nodded. "Sure. I'll leave you two alone."

"Thanks.", Morgan answered.

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your boyfriend, Lynn?" – The woman asked. Nick turned back to them, and as Morgan rolled her eyes and shook her head to him, he thought the best thing to do was to avoid the subject, for now, as he didn't even know who this woman was. "Oh, no, Mrs, we're not together... We just share the apartment. I work at the Lab too.", He explained, holding his hand out to her. "I'm Nick Stokes."

The woman shook his hand, introducing herself too. "Nice to meet you. I'm Ana Lucia Rodriguez… Lynn's… well, Morgan's mother."

The expression on Nick's face, that moment, was priceless.

* * *

**_Aha! How about this one? I bet you didn't see this coming... -grins evily-_**


	43. Chapter 43: Trashed and Scattered

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

_**Andy-Ander - **Thank you. Here's the next. Still a cliffhanger. Hope you enjoy it too,_

_**Samsara Dallire - **She's not quite in trouble. But this indeed a hard situation for her. Secrets are starting to be revealed. In this chapter you'll understand why she didn't tell her mother. Hope you like it._

_**Giu Miadi Black - **What more can I say? Here it is, as promised. I'm glad I surprised you and I hope you enjoy this chapter too. -smiles-_

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter 43**

"You don't need to leave… What I have to tell my daughter…"

"Don't you dare to call me that!" – Morgan hissed. Nick already knew her well enough to know that when she used this tone, something was about to break. So, he wisely decided that the best thing to do was to go to any division of that house as far away as possible from the living room. Or maybe even leave the apartment.

"Well, it's very clear that you two have some unsolved business to take care of, so I'll leave you to work it off in peace and privately. It was a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Rodriguez… If you need anything, just call me, Morgan, I'll be in my bedroom." – He said, before leaving the living room. She nodded and he left them.

"People call you Morgan now?" – Her mother asked. Since she was little, everyone back in Cameron had called her Lynn, her middle name.

Morgan ignored her question. "You may start… as I said before, you have five minutes. I have to go to work in an hour and I still have something to do first."

"Lynn… I-I didn't come here to apologize." – Ana Lucia started.

"Oh really? So, I _actually_ really don't know why you came…"

"Could you stop being so ironic and listen to me?"

"Could you stop being such an awfully self-centred bitch?!" – Morgan snapped. Ana Lucia raised her hand up to slap her, but she grabbed her wrist before she could hit her. "I thought so." – Morgan whispered. She released her wrist and stepped back.

"I'm your mother, you owe me respect!"

"I don't owe you a thing, nothing! And even less respect!" – She shot back. "Everything that I am now was built by me, on my own, without your help."

"I don't think I've done anything wrong so I have nothing to apologize for."

"OH EXCUSE-ME?" – Morgan shouted, completely shocked. All the tears she had kept inside from the past four years were coming back to her now. All the sorrow and the hate she had tried to despise, all the images she had tried to erase from her memory, it was all coming back to her and she couldn't control herself anymore. "You left without saying anything while I was in that hospital, dealing not just with the fact that Michael was in a coma but also with the chance of me being the one who had put him in that state…"

Ana Lucia fell into silence for a minute, before asking – "What happened to him?"

Morgan passed her hand through her hair _"I'm still so not ready to talk about this…"_ – She thought. She paced around the room before turning to her mother, playing with the silver ring on her right hand – "He died. The same day that you left, Michael died on the bed next to mine… While I was talking to him… WHILE I WAS FUCKING ASKING HIM NOT TO LEAVE ME AS YOU AND MELINA HAD DONE!"

"Lynn, your sister…"

"Sister? Which sister? My mother and my sister died the same day that they both saw me lying on that hospital bed for the last time…" – She snapped.

Ana Lucia was speechless. She rubbed the back of her neck – "What the hell did you turn into?"

"What do you mean?"

"You weren't like that, Lynn… So aggressive, so angry!"

"I hadn't been left by two of the people I trusted the most; in the moment I needed them so badly… I lost him, Ana Lucia, I lost my fiancé in the same day that you two left for a place, only God knows where… Yeah, he was my fiancé. He had asked me to marry him that day. I think I didn't get a chance to tell you, since you left that night, after we were taken to the hospital. And now you come back, four years later, and you dare to stay there and act like you're still my mother?"

"I am your mother." – She stated.

"No, you're not … you were, once, a long, long time ago and I nowadays I hate having to admit it, that I came from you. You two, you and Melina, are dead to me and you will remain dead." – Morgan declared, taking off her jacket, showing her mother that huge scar on her right shoulder – "Do you see this? Do you see this scar?"

Ana Lucia nodded. "This is one of many that were left of that accident… When I left the hospital, I was advised to have them removed but I couldn't do it. My skin tells the story of my life. This is the biggest scar I have, except for the ones that were left on the inside… Do you see this tattoo? Do you see the date?"

Her mother nodded once again – "You're so different… all these tattoos…" – She murmured.

"They tell a story... this one, right here, this date… July 21st 2001. This was the day that you died to me…" – She said, feeling her stomach twist at the same time she spat this words to the woman in front of her. This was a well-known sensation for her, this sickness and dizziness, ever since the accident. She grabbed onto the table near them and rubbed her temples. She got herself together once again and ended her sentence – "… and you're going to remain dead, now and forever. I don't need you! I've never needed you… Rest in peace!" – She snapped, before running to the bathroom and locking the door behind her.

Ana Lucia followed her and stopped at the door – "Lynn!" As she got no answer, she started knocking on the door.

"Get the hell out of my apartment!" – Morgan shot from the inside.

_(Flashback)_

"_Michael! MICHAEL!!!" – She screamed repeatedly, but he wouldn't answer. She tried to move, to get closer to him, but the damn seatbelt was trapping all her movements. Her hand scanned the debris around her, searching for something that she could grab, some part of him that she could hang on. "MICHAEL!"_

_Finally, he answered. She felt his hand over hers. "I'm here, baby…"_

"_Michael…" – She whispered, her voice trembling. "Are you okay?"_

"_Don't worry about me, Lynn__. I'll be fine. Are you injured?"_

"_The window…" – She winced, as she tried to move once again. "The window is piercing my upper arm. I can't move."_

"_Stay still. We'll be getting out of here soon. I promise."_

"_Michael… I'm scared." – She confessed, tears forming on her eyes. He tried to move near her but somehow, he couldn't. Hissing in pain, he gripped her hand tighter._

"_Remember__ what I told you earlier?" – He said to her, recalling the perfect afternoon they had spent together, where they had shared the most intimate moment of their lives and he had spoke to her, right from his heart, using words he had thought he'd never say to anyone. Looking deep into her eyes with those amazingly green eyes of his that had always given her hope and confidence, he kept speaking, trying to calm her. "We're together, baby, and nothing is more important than that… okay?"_

"_O-O__kay…" – She murmured, her voice distorted by the fear she was feeling that moment._

"_Do you trust me, Lynn__?"_

"_I do… of course, I do. But what if no one saw us falling down and…"_

"_So have faith in me." – He asked, cutting her off. He knew how scared she was, and it was hurting him so much not to be able to crawl closer to her and comfort her, try to rescue her from the shattered car that hung over them. "I love you, I'd rather die, kill myself if it was needed, than allow anyone or anything to harm you…"_

"_Y__ou're hurt, Michael…"_

"_Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I wish I could move closer to you now, but I can't, I'm stuck." – He said and tried to move again. A stinging pain took over his whole body and he bit his lower lip, in order to disguise it, not to scare her even more than she already was. Which was a lot, in the matter… He had never seen her so scared before and they had known each other for about fifteen years, since they were little._

"_Stop moving bab__y, please, you're scaring me… You can be getting worse by trying to move."_

"_I want to get closer to you, make sure you're okay… Get you out of here…"_

"_I__ don't want to lose you, I can't lose you, I-I..." – Morgan started rambling, her hand shaking on his, evidently panicking._

"_Schh, Lynn__, baby… You're not going to lose me, okay? I'm right here. I'll always be here." – He said, caressing her hand with his fingertips. "I'm sure that the guys will come look for us. I'm here with you; everything will be fine again soon."_

_(End of Flashback)_

Morgan sat down on the floor of the bathroom, feeling a little less dizzy now that her dinner had just been thrown out. _"I still miss you; I still love you so fucking much, Michael! You're not here anymore and I need you so much…"_

"We're not done yet." – Ana Lucia repeated, knocking on the door of the bathroom once again. Nick heard all that noise and he came out of his bedroom to find out what was happening.

"Lynn! Come out!"

"Mrs. Rodriguez…" – He called, approaching her. She turned around – "Mr. Stokes. I'm sorry about this whole confusion but Lynn… well, Morgan… Morgan locked herself on the bathroom and she refuses to come out."

"Please, call me Nick." – He asked and she nodded.

"Nick!" – Morgan called, interrupting him before he said anything else – "Could you please walk that woman to the door?"

"I've told you already that we're not done yet, Lynn."

"Mrs. Rodriguez, please, I'm asking you… I think you're done for today." – Nick said, motioning for them to go to the front door. On the doorway, as Ana Lucia was exiting the apartment, he murmured, "I'm sorry" before closing it. He turned around and leaned against the door, sighing. He hadn't been able to avoid hearing a part of the discussion, mainly when she had started shouting at her mother. Nick opened his eyes when he heard the door of the bathroom being unlocked and he headed there. Morgan came out and she clearly intended to run straight to her room, as she tried to avoid him.

"Get out of my way." – She asked. As he didn't move not even a single cell, she pushed him aside in order to pass. As she trying to walk by him, Nick couldn't control himself and the huge amount of new and twisted, mix feelings that she had awaken, so he grabbed her arm and pinned her against the wall on his left side. He trapped her body between his own and the wall. Morgan struggled, hit, kicked him, she did everything she could to try to get him to release her.

Nick kept his grip strong and reached for her arms, to get her to stop squirming. At some point, he leaned forward and captured her lips in his, just to make her stop for a moment and gain control.

It was all that she had been needing: a kiss, a passionate, deep kiss. She dove into Nick's passion, forgetting for a moment the whole mess her life had turned into, all of a sudden. She stopped her attempts of trying to free herself and inconsiderably her body started to answer to the entire stimuli that were coming from his (and how intense they were!). She froze for a minute and Nick took that opportunity: he assured that she was going to stay still and then released her arms, only to move his hands to the back of her neck and tangle his fingers with her long black hair. Her hands fell loose and stopped near his abdomen.

Moments later, he pulled back and opened his eyes. Morgan looked up to him for a brief second and he realized, as her eyes were filled up with tears that, for the first time, he was going to see her crying. She quickly leaned her face down, pressing her forehead to his perfectly shaped chest.

"Shit, Morgan, we can't go on like this… I can't simply sit and watch you destroying yourself this way. It hurts me so much, baby… so fucking much!" – Nick whispered to her ear. He was still caressing the back of her neck and her hair and his thumbs were tracing small circles on her cheeks.

Only when he started to feel his shirt getting wetter and her body shaking against his own, Nick realized that Morgan Lynn Rodriguez was _actually_, _really_ crying in front of him.

And he didn't like the feeling… not even a little, tiny bit.

**(Later that night)**

Morgan was lying on her bed but she couldn't sleep. Nick had forced her to call in sick that night and he said he would take care of her cases, in addition to his own ones. She had already turned around in bed about thousand times and she still couldn't fall asleep.

Her mother's visit had awaken a hidden and hibernating monster inside of her and it was now so much heavier than it had been until that moment that she couldn't carry it on her own anymore. She felt something that she had never felt before: the need to tell out her story to someone, the need of sharing it, the need of dividing such a heavy burden… the need of being helped. She once had briefly talked about it with Sofia but she had kept the most painful details to herself, telling only a very short version of the story.

Without thinking about her actions, she got out of bed and walked to Nick's room, like an automaton. She saw that there wasn't any light coming from the room, which told her that he could be already asleep. She knocked on the door, only by politeness, as she didn't even waited for him to answer to come in. She got inside the room and closed the door behind her. Nick didn't move and she walked to the bed and, lifting the covers a little, she moved inside and crawled closer to his body.

Sensing movement near him, Nick woke up and opened his eyes, just to see her body near his own, shaking as if she was freezing to death. It scared him as hell. "Morgan, did something happen?" – He asked, looking down at her, concern and worry all over his face.

_(Flashback)_

"_Schh Morgan, it's okay… Everything is going to be fine soon, I promise. Please, don't cry, baby…" – Nick whispered endlessly these same words to her ear while she stood there, silent, her tears soaking his shirt, her body shivering against his, her head spinning like a roller coaster. "You don't have to tell me, you know that, but it would help you… I'll wait until you're ready."_

_Her only answer was a weak and mute nod and he kept speaking, trying to calm her, "I just can't go on seeing you like this, baby… You've got to let me help you… I don't know how or when, but you've got to let me heal you… Please, Morgan…"_

_(End of Flashback)_

"Morgan… what happened?" – He asked again, as she hadn't answered him the first time. He pushed a streak of her hair behind her ear. He put his hand on her chin and pulled it up, for her to look at him.

She slowly opened her eyes and took a deep breath – "It all happened on July 21st 2001, the day that I-I turned nineteen…"

* * *

_Curious to know why Morgan is the way she is? Depressed, angry and cold? Stay tuned for next chapter. I think you'll be surprised..._


	44. Chapter 44: Hearts Burst Into Fire

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI: or Nick Stokes. The whole episode 'Grave Danger' isn't mine either. I only own the idea and Morgan Lynn Rodriguez (She is mine).

_**Giuli Miadi Black - **Thank you, my dear. Here's the explanation for... basically everything about Morgan. Hope you like it. The end is getting near._

_**Andy-Ander - **Here it is. There's no cliffhanger at the end of this one, I promise. Hehehe. Here's the rest of what happened. Every small detail. Hope you like it._

_**Samsara Dallire - **Oh boy it is and you will see that being proven in this chapter. Very intense and dramatic. Everything is explained now. Hope you like it, it means a lot. Here's the story (it ain't no fairytale) behind of Morgan's cold mask..._

**Facing Grave Danger**

**Chapter 44 **

She slowly opened her eyes and took a deep breath – "It all happened on July 21st 2001, the day that I turned nineteen…"

She stopped for a second before going on and Nick remained silent. He knew that she was going to stop talking if he interrupted or put some pressure on her now, so he patiently waited, as he had vowed to, until she was ready to say it all… He was going to finally get to know the story of Morgan Lynn Rodriguez's life and he wasn't going to throw that opportunity out just because of his nerves.

"I-I…" – She started, her eyes drifting down, playing with the silver ring on her right hand – "That was also the day when we were going to have our first concert. Back then, I was the keyboard player and the vocals of a band and the guitar player, Michael… h-he was my…" – She took another break – "He was my fiancé. He had just given me this ring, that afternoon. We had been friends since we were four and together since we were thirteen. But that afternoon, on my nineteenth birthday, after our last rehearsal before the concert, he took me to his house, for us to practise something we had been preparing to surprise the guys of the band. A song the two of us had made, the night before. It was like a song about us, about the essence of our band. The lyrics had been written by me. There was also one other song that had been written by both of us, I believe you've heard it already. It was the song that I was hearing when we talked about you going to see Kelly Gordon. It's called 'Angel Song'."

Nick nodded. He remembered that song. Back in that moment, he had kind of recognized Morgan's voice singing along with other boy who, he had just learnt, was Michael. The same boy holding her in the picture he had seen on her bedside table.

"The one we were working on that day was called 'My Friends'. Nobody knew about it yet and we were going to perform it that night. It was a surprise for LJ, Tommy and Jordan, the rest of the guys of our band. After the song was ready, he said he had something really important to tell me. He said that it didn't matter how or when, but that someday he would marry me. He took a little box from the drawer on his closet and sat in front of me in the bed and asked me to marry him." – Morgan took off the ring on her right hand. "This was the ring that he gave me, that day. He asked the jeweller to write the title of one of my favourite Dream Theater's songs on the inside. That band was our model; they had inspired us to start our own band. It was something that meant as much for him as it meant for me."

"The song… Which is it?" – Nick asked, his voice very low.

"I Walk Beside You." – Morgan answered, trying to fight back the emotions that were overwhelming her. "He promised me that; even if I said I didn't want to marry him. And then, he made love to me for the first time."

She slid the ring back on her finger and then looked at it for a moment. "When we were going to the bar, later, some drunk guy drove through a red light and hit the SUV right on Michael's side, sending the car flying on the road. Until it hit a tree… It spun around about two or three times, I don't remember exactly, and it went against the tree right with the front part. The impact was so violent that the windshield shattered in pieces and my upper body was pushed forward…"

Another pause. She shifted on the bed, coming closer to him, searching for the warmth of his body, in contrast to the coldness of her own soul. Nick remained still, fearful that any move or action of his would make her stop speaking.

"When I came back to my senses, I panicked… I was scared as hell but not for me, for Michael… I started screaming his name. He had this huge cut on his forehead, I think he had hit the wheel, that was bleeding and he wasn't answering me. I tried to break free of my seat beat but it was stuck, it wouldn't come out… Only when I moved my right shoulder I felt a stinging pain and I had like the weight of the world crushing down on my chest. I had half of the window pierced on my shoulder and arm. It must have broken too, with the impact, and it ended up in my arm. That's where this scar comes from… The other fragments, from the windshield, made just some small cuts in my face and neck. I-I realized I couldn't move so I called him again and again… I remember that I started to feel the air escaping my lungs at certain point and he answered, finally. I felt his right hand on my left and he closed his hand tight around mine. He said that everything was going to be okay, for me not to worry… that we were together and nothing could overcome it…"

Nick reached for her hand and held it, while she went on telling the story – "I was having more and more trouble breathing, I had much pressure on my lungs, and I kept asking him if he was alright. He never let go of my hand and never answered me either. He told me that…th-that he loved me and that he wouldn't allow anything happen to me. He tried to move, to turn and come closer to me, but he couldn't. That moment, I realized that he must have had some injury on his spine, causing a paralysis… I guess I started crying then, but he remained calm and tried to calm me… He knew that if he tried to move again, he was signing his death sentence for a wheel chair for the rest of his life and he still tried to come near me!" – She shot, her gaze fixed on nowhere, her hand shaking against his.

"I couldn't speak, I couldn't breathe… I recall the paramedics saying that I had a pulmonary contusion or something like that, result from the impact when the car spun around and hit the tree… I had coughed blood and I was having much trouble breathing. They had to intubate me, on the ambulance. I passed out then and the one thing I remember after that is waking up in a room, with my twin sister, Melina, sitting on the chair next to my bed. I had this huge band-aid on my shoulder and she told me that I had broken my right clavicle and had this very deep cut on that arm, which would take a lot of time to heal. About the pulmonary contusion, she said that it was still unknown but I had already been taken off the ventilator and I had just some oxygen tubes, helping me breathe, just in case. Other than that and some bruises and cuts to my face and neck, I was okay, I would live. I had a black out for a moment but then everything came back to me and I asked her about Michael. She pointed for the bed next to mine… He… H-He was in a coma. Paralysed and connected to an external ventilator, to help him breathe…"

She was now crying and doing nothing to disguise it. "My mother got in the room right then and said that I had to rest and only worry about getting better. They both decided to let me sleep. Each one gave me a kiss in the forehead and they left. That was the last time I saw Melina and my mother… Well, until today…"

"That's why you…" – Nick trailed off. He hadn't meant to speak aloud but it had just come out.

"Yeah. For four years, I wondered why they had left… I never got an explanation and now, I'm sure I don't want to get one… I tried to move on but I can never forget or forgive what they did. Melina was one the most important people in my life, along with Michael and the guys from the band, and she left me the same time he did… I will never forgive her… and my mother? She was always weak and always preferred her above me… Her perfect daughter Melina: the one who wasn't a smoker, who didn't play in an alternative band, who hadn't dyed her hair red and dressed in black, who went to Med. School instead of wanting to investigate crimes, like I wanted to. She said I was still like a kid, who just wants to play detectives, for fun. Melina? Oh, Melina was much better than me… she wouldn't spend more time in her boyfriend's house than in her own, just not to hear her parents fighting with each other. She was the one that stood on her side most of the times, when she and my father would discuss more harshly… She hated Michael deeply and she thought that my whole 'heavy metal' attitude and that kind of stuff was despicable."

"The same time he did?" – Nick asked but he regretted had asked this a flash second later, when she looked up at him, with her eyes filled up with tears and pain, something he had never seen before.

"I sat on his bed, the next morning, when my dad told me that they were gone. I told him I would marry him the moment we stepped out of that hospital, together. I begged him not to leave me… When I told him that I loved him very, very much, he just opened his eyes. He was kind of confused for a moment, with the ventilator and all, but he looked at me and reached for my hand. I started calling out for my father, shouting that Michael had woken up from the coma, but right then some machines started beeping. He closed his hand around mine, so tight... I screamed louder, for my father to call someone, doctors, nurses, whatever. I felt that there was something wrong happening, something really wrong. Then it was all much confusing… Doctors came in and asked me to step back. One of the doctors announced that he was on cardiac arrest. My father came in and dragged me away from there…"

She turned to her left, her back to him, closing her eyes wide shut, trying to erase those haunting images from her memory. He wanted to wrap his arms around her but he couldn't bring himself to do it: she was so fragile, so torn…

"He died right then. The fact that the car had hit ours on the driver's side, Michael's side, had caused his spleen to rupture. They were going to perform a splenectomy, to remove it, but the bleeding was too intense. The internal damages caused by the bleeding stopped the doctors from saving him. From saving me…Half of me died that day too, that moment, in that hospital bed, when Michael held my hand for the last time…"

She burst out in tears and Nick wished he knew what to do. It was killing him seeing the girl he loved the most in the world so hurt. Those memories were ripping her heart, what was left of it, piece by piece, and there was nothing he could do about it: just stay and watch.

"I didn't speak again for another three days. I had what doctors like to call 'Post-Traumatic Stress' and I was in shock. Only my father was able to make me speak again. He pleaded me to allow him to help me recover. I left the hospital about five or six days later and I went straight to college. I vowed to finish my degree as soon as possible to move away from that suffocating environment. I couldn't live in Cameron any longer… Since I had moved there when I was four years old, my life and Michael's life had been almost one and the same. We met in kindergarten, we became instant friends. Everything remembers me of him, there... I started getting the rest of the tattoos. My last year of college, I told my dad I was leaving after getting my degree. I packed my stuff and applied for the spot here in Vegas. My father never stopped me; he knew I had to leave that place. He never forced me to talk about this but he knew how I was… Since that day, I never played piano anymore… I loved playing the piano, there wasn't a day that would go by without me playing, but I was never able to do it again. I never had strength enough to go to his grave and I never said a word about my mother or sister… Except to say that, to me, they had died that day too and that I didn't want to talk about them anymore. Ever."

Silence dominated the room, short cut by her weep, while Nick gained the courage he needed to ask her something that had been tearing him for the past months. He caressed her hair and kissed the top of her head.

"Was… Was by this time that y-you started…?"

She clenched her fist tight on the pillow and didn't answer right away. "Yes." – She whispered, moments later. "I kept thinking that it wasn't fair that I had been spared and Michael had died… the only thing that relieved me was feeling my blood slipping out of my veins. It was the only way that made me be closer to him; feel almost as he had felt in that last moment… The only consequence I got from that God-damned accident, other than the scars, was a breathing disorder. The doctors said, months later, that it may result from the pulmonary contusion in addiction to some psychological cause. When I'm under much pressure or when I have to deal with some emotions and situations… even when I run too much, when I'm put through a big physical effort, my breathing ability diminishes and I even started to hyperventilate, one time. It's the only damn thing I got. Michael? Michael died, from that collision. It's not fair, Nick… I may have done many wrong things in my life, Nick, but he? He hadn't… He didn't deserve it… I needed to do something about that. I couldn't just live with myself, surviving through that car crash with nothing more than some cuts and an occasional breathing disorder."

He closed his eyes, torn apart by what he had just heard. She went on speaking – "But then it became a habit, something to which I ran wherever I felt… anything. It was…it _is_ my weakness; I couldn't deal with what was happening to me… I still can't…" – She trailed off, embarrassed for being confessing this to _him_. "Welcome to my world, Nicky… The cold, self-centred, diabolic bitch of the Lab is nothing more than a hopeless self-destructive person who can't overcome her issues and mutilates herself instead of facing reality…"

"I-I'm sorry… I didn't want to make you talk about this…" – Nick whispered, after a few minutes of silence. With each one of her last words, it was like something was stabbing him and he had needed some time to recover from this unexpected confession, to be able to think straight again.

"Nick…" – She called, a little later, turning back to him.

"Yeah?" – He answered, looking down at her.

"When did you find out?"

He swallowed the lump on his throat. _"Trapped!"_ He thought. "The morning you were released from the hospital, after the McCarter case." – He responded.

"How?"

"The doctor told me that, while he was examining you, he found out some scars on your wrists… With that information, some stuff on my head, all of a sudden, started to make sense and I got quite disturbed. That was really, why I snapped at you, that day. Warrick had just told me that he knew that I was falling harder for you each day and then I found out this about you… I was all messed up. I knew I had to talk to you about it but I never had the courage to do it, so I kept postponing it … I saw the scars myself, five days later, when I took you out to dinner… I just didn't know what to do." – He confessed, feeling suddenly like a weak coward. There were more. That night they had spent together, he had seen that there were more, much more scars… more scars that he could have avoided if he wasn't so damn weak…

"I never recovered from it… I mean, how am I supposed to be able to take that image off my head? Michael died in front of me. I killed him! If it wasn't for me being in that car, he would have never tried to move after the accident. He would still be alive; he would still be with me if I wasn't there. Trying to save me was what killed him!" – She said, raising her voice.

"Morgan…" – He started – "You can't blame yourself for this. Did you listen to me? You can't! It wasn't your fault…"

"He was my life, Nick. He dropped off University because I told him I needed some time on my own to think about everything that was happening between us! College was tearing us apart, little by little, day by day and I couldn't stand the fact that all the pressure we had, all the stress, everything, it could end up making me fight with him even more and tell him things that I knew I would regret the moment they slipped out of my mouth. We were all stressed out and spending less and less time together because of our schools. Those days, we were almost only together at our band rehearsals and even then, we barely talked, we just fought with each other. It was awful. Until he dropped out... He had a huge talent to draw and Architecture was his main passion, along with playing guitar. Once, he said to me that if he lived just with me on his side, a guitar on one hand and a pencil and paper on the other, that he would be the happiest man alive. He dropped off college for us and started working on a tattoo store. He said that it didn't matter. He just couldn't lose me that way, because of such silly reasons, so he neglected his dream for me to be able to achieve mine." – She confessed.

"There was this one time, a Friday night, when my parents had been shouting at each other for nothing during almost two hours, after dinner. I decided I couldn't live with the two of them any longer. I packed some stuff on a backpack and came downstairs, waiting for him to come pick me up. We usually hung out at a bar, almost every night and when Michael arrived, I kissed my dad and told him I was going to meet with Michael and that I loved him very, very much."

"And then?"

"When I got to the car, Michael wondered why I had brought the backpack. I hadn't even greeted him and he knew that something was wrong."

_(Flashback)_

"_Lynn… baby, what happened? What's on that backpack?" – He asked. As she didn't look up to him or answered his question, Michael pulled her chin up. He noticed that her black eyeliner was all spotted. "You've been crying…"_

"_No, I haven't." – She lied. She would never admit to him that she cried, ever._

"_Lynn…" – He started, but trailed off, when a little tear threatened to come down her face. "Come here…" He got free of the seatbelt and sliding his arm to her neck, entwined his fingers with her hair and pulled her face to him. After two or three brief kisses, he pulled back and, still caressing her neck, pressed his forehead against hers. "Baby…"_

"_Can I stay with you tonight?" – She asked, her beautiful dark brown eyes filled up with tears and hurt. "I can't live there any longer, Michael… not anymore. Not with them fighting every five seconds for nothing and my mother always taking her stress out on me, Melina and my father. I'm done with it; it's too fucking much for me…Melina and my dad, they can handle it, but I can't. Not anymore. I'm done!"_

"_Schh... Lynn, calm down." – His soft voice always had the ability to make her calm a little. "I'm going to call Tommy, to tell him we're not going anywhere tonight, and then we'll go home, okay?" – He proposed. "Give me just a minute…"_

_Keeping his hand on the back of her head, he pulled back a little, reaching for his cell phone. She buried her face on his perfumed neck while he waited for the person to pick up. "Tommy… Hey man, it's Michael. Look, are you guys already at Johnny's?... Oh, okay. Because me and Lynn, we're not going there tonight okay? Something came up. No... everything's alright, I'll explain it to you later." – He said, concisely. "Thanks man." – He said before hanging up. Silently, he turned on the ignition and, as she sat back straight on her seat, he drove off. Silence took over the car until they arrived his house._

_Once inside, he asked his parents if she could stay there that night, in his sister's room. Peyton surely wouldn't mind, when she and LJ returned from Johnny's, she would probably be thrilled, and when Michael briefly informed his parents of what had happened, they agreed. They went upstairs and Michael put down the backpack as they entered his bedroom. She hadn't said a word since he had started driving. Guiding her to his bed, he made her lie down and lay on her side. She crawled closer to him, closing her fist tight on his t-shirt and cuddling against his chest. Pushing a streak of hair behind her ear, he murmured. "Baby, please say something… You're worrying me, Lynn…"_

"_I just want to be with you, Michael…" – She whispered, closing her eyes. "Please, don't ever leave me." – She pleaded, her voice trembling, like she was a scared child. He wrapped his right arm around her waist and rolled onto his back, bringing her to lie over his body. Approaching his lips to hers, he kissed her, slowly and deeply. His arms went up over her back until her bare shoulder blades, as she pulled back and cuddled in his embrace, leaning her head on his shoulder._

"_I love you, Morgan Lynn Rodriguez. I've loved you since the first day I saw you, when you entered my kindergarten class, fifteen years ago. Nothing will ever be able to change that, no matter what. I know it, I can feel it. It's unconditional and I'll always be with you." – He said. "I hate to see you torn like this and saying these things. I will never leave you, baby, I can promise you that." Then, moving his hand to touch her chest, he kept speaking. "Even when I'm away, I'm always with you… I'm always __here__." – He pointed, pressing his fingers on her skin, over her heart._

_(End of Flashback)_

"Later that night, he made me my first tattoo." – She said, showing Nick her left arm, pointing to the place where she wore her watch. He had noticed those stars before. "These three stars right here represent the promise he made to me, that night: me, him and our future… He promised we'd always be together. Look where I am right now and where he is." – She commented, the bitterness on her voice hurting her deeply. "And this one right here…" – She showed him her right arm then. "This was the first tattoo I made after leaving the hospital. I had wanted the one on my shoulder to be the first one, but since it took it about three months to be able to be tattooed, I did this one first."

It said '_Wear your heart on your sleeve…_' and it was on her right forearm, written in a kind of ancient type of calligraphy, between her right wrist and elbow. "He was going to do it after our concert that night. He said that if we made it through that performance, he'd do it. Well, we didn't make it but I did it anyways. Michael loved that expression and it kind of was the perfect definition of who he was, how he lived his life… I owe him so much more than just the tattoos."

She took a pause, just staring at her arm. "He was the only person to who I'd give everything. EVERYTHING. And what did I give him? I sent him to Hell… away from me. I can't take this anymore Nick… It's too damn much for me to handle and I can't do it… not anymore. I'm so fucking tired…."

"Please don't say that, Morgan… I won't ask you to forget it because it's impossible… but think about it: Michael would have wanted you to be happy. You got a second chance, a chance of rebuilding your life somewhere else… Please, take that chance. I'm not saying this for you to do it with me; as much as it might hurt me saying this, I don't have to be that person, if you don't want me to… But don't give up on yourself… Please, Morgan, look at me."

She looked up to him and he wiped her face clean. "As much as it may be hard for you to believe, I really like you. I do… Don't ask me why, these things can't be rationally explained, but I do. And I can't stand seeing you hurt like this… But you have to let me help you; you have to be the one giving me permission to get in your life… Otherwise there's nothing I can do and we're both getting hurt…"

She put her hand over his on her face and shook her head in an agreement signal. Nick leaned forward, slowly, giving her time to step back if she wanted to, and gently touched her lips with his, trying to strengthen what he had just said. Morgan allowed him to kiss her briefly, but then she pulled back, feeling suddenly uncomfortable. Nick understood her position, didn't force anything further, and stepped back.

She lay down on her back staring out at the ceiling and sighed as he pushed a strand of hair out of her face. "Can I stay?" – She asked, shyly. Nick looked at her, surprised and she blushed. "I… I-I just don't want to be alone tonight…"

He cut her off – "Of course you can…"

She turned to him again and cuddled up in his chest, as if seeking again for that warmth that his body had always offered her, opposing to the frozen state that her soul had acquired after the accident. He passed his arm over her body, as if, this way, he could protect her from any harm that could take over her in her sleep and kissed her forehead, whispering, "Try to sleep now. I'll be here when you wake up …"

"You promise?"

"I do, baby… I'll be here."

"Please don't leave." – She asked, crawling deeper into his embrace.

"I won't, Morgan, I promise."

She closed her eyes. "Thank you, Nick…" In a matter of minutes, she fell asleep, with Nick attentively beside her, controlling any signs of nightmares. "You're welcome, baby…" – He murmured, delivering another kiss on her head, before leaning back on the pillows, remaining awake all night, thinking about what he had just found about her life.

* * *

_The longest chapter I've ever written. Well, it had to be. Morgan Lynn Rodriguez is my creation, my caracther, I had to explain everything, detail by little detail, why she is the way she is. Why many people think she is cold, evil or just weird. Morgan Lynn Rodriguez is mine, I was the evil and twisted mind to make up this story. Blame me, not her._

_And on your way, review this chapter and let me know what you think, will you?_


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